COLUMBIA  LIBRARIES  OFFSITE 

AVERY  FINE  ARTS  RESTRICTED 


AR01 407759 


BY.ftf 


PYJAMAS  p.'KKHAHRSoK- 


iEx  Stbrtfi 


SEYMOUR    DURST 


"t '  'Tort  nieMto    ^4mAtrcU™,  ojt  Je  teanhatarus 


(NEW   YORK),       1651. 


When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
"Sver'tbing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book." 


OLD     YORK     LIBRARY   —   OLD     YORK     FOUNDATION 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/wallstreetbybackOOrich 


James  R.   Keene. 
'Full  grown,  succulent  Southdown  mutton  is  his 
diet." 


WALL    STREET 

BY     THE 

BACK     DOOR 


BY 

Thomas  D.  Richardson 

CARICATURES    BY 

Homer  C.   Davenport 


WALL    STREET    LIBRARY    PUBLISHING    CO. 

PUBLISHERS 

9-iJ    Murray    Street  New    York 


fc.G- 


COPYRIGHT,      1 90 1,      BY 
THOMAS    D.    RICHARDSON. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Inside  Information — Many  Facts  Not  Generally- 
Known,        5 

The   Real   Manipulator — Reasoning   by   Reducing 

a  Position  to  an  Absurdity, 13 

Arranging  the  Guns  and  Laager — The  Men  Be- 
hind the  Guns  Still  Invisible,       ....        23 

An  Insider  Who  Was  Only  a  Fake — A  Modern 

Red-Haired  Absalom, 33 

How  Lambs  Are  Sheared — Who  Does  the  Shear- 
ing ? 40 

Two  Shearers  and  Their  Methods — An  Accom- 
modating Judge, 49 

Still   Another    Insider's    Deal — Some    Mystifying 

Manipulations,  58 

An  Insider's  Mistake — A  Profitable  Experience  .        63 

Enter  Goliath  and  the  Hero  of  Cordage — One 
Talent  Was  Sufficient — Hero  of  Cordage — 
The  Cordage  Deal, 69 

How  an  Alleged  "Insider"  Failed — His  Horo- 
scope Cast  by  Others, 83 

Another     Golden    Spike    Re-Morganization  —  A 

Christening  in  the  Sunny  South,       ...        89 

Lord  High  Protector  of  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit — 

But  He  Was  Only  a  Novice,     ....        97 

The  "Nipper"  Simoon — Our  Hero  at  the  Tiller,      109 

Review  of  the  Syllogism, .      127 


WM  Street  bg  tfje  jftactt  Boor 

CHAPTER  I. 

3!tt0(He  91nfotmatton* 


MANY  FACTS   NOT  GENERALLY   KNOWN. 

It  is  the  exact  truth  to  state  that  there 
are  two  Wall  streets — both  located  in  New 
York  City :  first,  the  widely  known  thorough- 
fare of  that  name,  extending  east  and  west 
from  Broadway  to  the  East  River,  with  the 
imposing  ancient  landmark,  Trinity  Church, 
at  its  Broadway  head ;  *  the  other,  ordinarily 

*  School  books  and  histories  agree  that  the  name  was 
given  to  this  street  by  the  earliest  Dutch  settlers  of 
Manhattan  Island,  who  erected  a  wall  at  that  point  for 
the  purpose  of  defense  against  the  Indians. 


Igall  Street  b?  t^e  Bach  2Door, 

yclept  "The  Street "  by  its  habitues,  in- 
cludes a  reference  solely  to  that  structure 
known  as  the  New  York  Stock  Exchange. 
Of  course  the  reference  to  this  building, 
per  sey  does  not  exclude  its  occupants,  the 
brokers,  but  rather  embraces  the  two. 
Otherwise  the  cognomen  would  be  shorn  of 
its  actual  significance  and  become  another 
Hamlet,  with  Hamlet  omitted. 

It  is  with  this  American  Bourse,  then, 
that  we  have  to  do,  and  those  who  may  care 
to  follow  the  facts  presented  are  assured 
unique  experiences  and  strictly  logical  con- 
clusions. Notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
"  there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun,"  the 
postulates  herein  advanced,  and  the  citations 
of  examples  in  support  of  the  deductions 
made,    will,    as   a   whole,    be    new   to   many 

6 


3|n0tDe  ^Information* 


readers,  and,  it  is  hoped,  entertaining  to  all. 
As  there  are  two  Wall  streets,  each  widely 
differing  from  the  other,  so,  likewise,  there 
are  two  sets,  or  classes,  of  potential  factors  in 
the  "  Street." 

Much  as  these  two — the  broker  and  the 
manipulator  —  are  ordinarily  supposed  to 
resemble  in  their  transactions  the  Siamese 
twins,  the  fact  remains  that  the  broker  rarely 
knows  the  manipulator  in  his  purchases  or 
sales.  Nor  does  ye  broker  care  to  know 
him,  if  he  could.  He  gives  not  a  rap  for 
him.  All  the  broker's  interests  lie  in  the 
financial  solidity  of  his  presumed  patron. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  manipulator  of 
"deals"  in  listed  stocks  must — and  does  of 
necessity — preserve  his  incognito  both  from 
the  brokers  and  public  (or  lambs)  alike. 


&all  fetrrrt   bv   t\)t   13acfe  Door. 

This  mutual  agreement,  therefore,  between 
"  supposed  twins,"  is  an  anomaly,  at  first 
glance — some  may  even  declare  it  to  be  a 
paradox.  The  evidence  in  support  of  the 
proposition  should  be  orderly  stated : 

<* 

First,  an  examination  of  the  status  of  the 
brokers,  and  then  routine  business  methods, 
is  in  order. 

Membership  in  the  New  York  Stock 
Exchange  is  a  much-coveted  honor,  but 
expensive,  unless  the  member  enjoys  a  con- 
siderable clientage.  "  Seats  " — which  signi- 
fies standing  room  only,  there  being  no 
actual  seats  —  command  fabulous  prices, 
varying  with  eras  of  prosperity  on  the 
"  Street/'  and  throughout  the  country  at 
large.      These  carry  a  handsome  life  insur- 


31tt0i6*  ^Information* 


ance  policy,  and,  all  other  conditions  being 
equal,  the  broker  earns  large  fees,  and 
spends  his  income  like  a  prince.  But  the 
source,  real  head,  and  actual  patron  is 
unknown  to  the  broker.  He  receives,  at 
each  "call,"  an  order  to  buy  or  to  sell 
designated  stocks,  which  come  almost  invari- 
ably from  a  bank.  His  commissions,  buy- 
ing or  selling,  are  his  first  interest;  the 
second  being  the  soundness  and  stability  of 
his  supposed  patron.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  broker  could  not,  if  so  inclined,  possibly 
know  whether  the  bank  was  acting  for  itself 
or  for  some  one  else.  This  is  true,  too, 
because  the  bank  issuing  the  order  is  itself 
unaware  of  the  identity  or  interested  motives 
of  its  client.  So  the  bank  and  the  broker 
each   are    coadjutors    in    stock    transactions, 


^all  fetrm  b?  t^e  13aek  Door, 

and  are  severally  and  collectively  ignorant  of 
the  "  power  behind  the  throne." 

* 
Many,  even  most,  self-styled  financial 
writers  usually  declare  that  Wall  Street  dis- 
counts everything.  In  a  limited  sense  this 
has  some  truth  upon  which  to  rest.  It  can- 
not, for  example,  be  gainsaid  that  the  trans- 
actions daily  emanating  from  the  New  York 
Stock  Exchange  do  set  the  pace  and  legalize 
the  market  value  thus  stamped  upon  all 
securities  authorized  to  be  dealt  in  thereon. 
The  brokers,  nevertheless,  are  never  pawns 
upon  that  financial  chessboard;  only  lilipu- 
tians  in  the  financial  arena  in  which  they  are 
commonly  believed  to  be  monarchs;  willing, 
yet  ignorant  servitors  of  an  unknown  master. 
In    short,   it    can    be    demonstrated    almost 

IO 


3n&i*t  ^Information, 


to  a  mathematical  certainty  that  the  fluctua- 
tion, rise  and  fall,  of  all  listed  stocks  is  a 
fiction,  mildly  expressing  the  fact.  It  is 
true  that  values — so-called — in  listed  stocks, 
do  rise  and  fall  daily;  men,  corporations, 
communities,  are  only  too  frequently  swal- 
lowed beneath  the  chaos  which  violent 
panics  in  Wall  Street  entail.  These  are 
frozen  facts,  known  to  all,  and  incontro- 
vertible. Nevertheless,  the  position  can  be 
advanced  to  demonstration,  and  will  be,  that 
variations  in  quotations  are  myths,  buga- 
boos, will  o'  the  wisps,  in  the  last  analysis. 

Finally,  the  orderly  and  systematic 
arrangement  of  data  bearing  upon  and 
emphasizing  this  affirmation  has  been 
reserved    for    appropriate    sequence. 

If  neither  the  bank  nor  the  broker  is  a 
1 1 


WM  Street  bg  tfte  IBacfe  SPoot, 

potential  entity,  then,  in  the  rise  and  fall 
of  stocks,  who  is?  The  subject  is  a  vast 
one,  even  vaster,  in  its  connections,  than 
many  casual  thinkers  might  imagine. 

Each  necessary  cog  in  the  wheel  must  be 
examined.  There  are  not  many.  The  boss 
and  his  servants  compose  and  comprise 
nearly  the  entire   family. 

But  that's  another  story. 


02 


CHAPTER  II. 

C^e  !Keal  jttanfpulato** 


REASONING    BY    REDUCING    A    POSITION    TO    AN 
ABSURDITY. 

North  America  has  produced  many  rare 
specimens  of  genius,  each  product  labeled 
with  a  fitting  name.  The  real  "  insider  "  in 
stock  manipulations  is  a  peerless  monarch 
when  consideration  is  given  to  his  attributes, 
characteristics  and  achievements.  His  char- 
acteristics are  as  varied  as  his  conquests. 
One  of  these  traits  may  sufficiently  accentu- 
ate this  averment.  He  is  dumb  as  to  his 
business  connections,  yet  in  other  spheres  of 

13 


^all  Street  bp  tlje  Back  SDoor* 

social  environments  genial  and  even  loqua- 
cious— but  never  bibulous — ah !  no,  never. 
He  herds  in  a  flock,  in  the  one  instance  all 
by  himself;  in  the  other,  he  is  a  bonvivantl 

Students  of  geometry,  to  a  man,  recollect 
their  adolescent  struggles  in  attempting  to 
solve  the  "  Pons  Asinorum."  The  argu- 
ments, in  that  renowned  problem,  have 
come  down  through  the  ages,  labeled  in 
Latin  terms,  unchanged,  even  in  the  steady 
march  to  simplified  diction  and  plain  Anglo- 
Saxon  phrases. 

All  such  readers,  then,  will  at  once  meet 
an  old  acquaintance  in  the  term  employed 
for  explanation.  That  term  is:  "  Reductio 
ad  absurdum"  or,  in  plain  English, 
"  Reducing  a  position  to  an  absurdity." 

The  position  assumed  in  these  pages  will 


tU^e  l&eai  flpanipulator* 


be  found  to  have  one  of  its  basic  founda- 
tions supporting  such  a  style  of  argument. 
It  will  be  pointed  out,  as  the  story  pro- 
gresses, that  the  propositions  advanced  must 
be  true,  for  their  converse  would  be  a 
manifest  absurdity.  Lawyers  are  frequently 
compelled  to  use  circumstantial  evidence  in 
murder  trials,  or  none. 

Writers  upon  philosophical  matters,  on 
the  other  hand,  always  have  been  character- 
ized by  their  use  of  analytical  forms  of 
reasoning.  The  subjects  under  treatment 
herein  will  be  analyzed  by  the  use  of  all 
such  facts  and  agencies,  and  by  others  as 
well.  Unambiguous  terms  will  be  em- 
ployed. A  spade  will  be  called  a  spade; 
a  hoe,  a  hoe.  The  ice  may  seem  thin,  now 
and    then,  separating    the    skater   from   the 

■5 


^all  Street  b?  tjir  315acfc  2r>oor* 

whirlpool  of  libel.  All  redundant,  irrele- 
vant, untruthful  dicta  will  be  emasculated 
from  the  text  and  context,  if  attention, 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  and  lack  of 
malicious  intent  can  curb  such  steeds. 

Apropos  of  the  word  "hoe,"  it  may  as 
well  be  here  stated  that  much  will  be  said  of 
the  "  man  with  the  hoe,"  and  that  humble, 
yet  useful,  implement,  will  likewise  be 
utilized  —  perhaps  metaphorically  —  to  em- 
phasize the  matter  under  consideration. 

The  real  insider  (for  there  can  be  but  one 
such  at  a  time),  the  individual  who  actually 
causes  the  rise  and  fall  of  listed  stocks  in  the 
"  Street "  (by  which  is  meant  New  York 
Stock  Exchange,  and  for  brevity  it  will 
henceforth  be  so  expressed),  employs  a 
multitude   of  men   and   methods.      He  is  a 

16 


GPtje  Heal  Manipulator* 


veritable,  yet  modern,  agriculturist — not  a 
Cincinnatus,  never  having  been  summoned 
to  his  avocation  by  others.  He  cultivates, 
most  assiduously,  yet  thoroughly,  his  de- 
mesne. Why,  then,  should  he  not  use  a 
"  hoe,"  pray  ?  Malicious  critics  were  accus- 
tomed to  declare  that  Gould,  a  past-master 
in  this  list  of  insiders,  was  a  gardener,  and 
daily  entered  his  garden  to  pray.  These 
critics,  however,  were  insistent  to  the  last, 
that  Gould's  invocations  on  such  occasions 
should  be  spelled  with  an  "e,"  not  an  "a," 
An  insider,  like  a  poet,  is  born,  not  made. 
He  finds  his  sphere  as  water  does  its  level. 
The  cultivation  he  practises  needs  now  to 
be  particularized.  Unlike  the  ordinary 
husbandman,  a  genuine  manipulator  uses 
his   hoe,  like  Aaron   did   his  rod,  to   cause 

*7 


^all  Street  b^  t\)t  Back  SDoor, 

those  assembled  to  witness  autocratic 
power. 

The  Aaron  rod,  we  are  told,  budded  and 
finally  swallowed  things.  Yet  we  are  also 
informed  that  the  same  rod,  in  the  hands 
of  Moses,  seemed,  at  times,  weighty.  The 
Moses  handling  of  the  rod  required,  for 
some  reason,  that  Hur  and  Aaron,  on  the 
right  and  left  hand,  respectively,  should 
hold  up  the  prophet's  arms. 

Not  so  with  our  insider.  His  hoe,  or 
rod,  or  wand,  or  trencheon,  as  the  case  may 
be,  isn't  so  heavy  but  that  he  wields  it  alone 
and  unaided.  To  drop  the  metaphor,  let's 
examine  a  few  instances. 

The  primary  prerequisite  of  an  insider  is 
a  broker,  to  execute  his  behests.  These 
gentlemen  (for  they  are  mostly  above  suspi- 


tElje  fceal  Manipulator* 


cion,  like  Caesar's  wife,  "come  high."  Their 
seats  command  an  outlay,  varying  with 
good  times,  of  from  125,000  to  $70,000. 
Their  hands,  too,  must  be  clean  in  out- 
side business,  as  well  as  in  their  dealings 
with  each  other  and  their  clients.  They 
must  pay  their  bills.  Harpies  of  every 
kindred,  tongue,  and  clime  lie  in  wait  for 
them  when  off*  duty.  Club  dues,  too,  eat 
up  fabulous  slices  of  their  earnings.  Many 
of  them  maintain  steam  yachts,  country 
seats,  opera  boxes — in  short,  their  incomes 
must  needs  be  princely,  else  collapses  would 
often  follow  them ;  yet  but  few  brokers 
ever  fail. 

All  they,  in  their  time,  need  can  be  sum- 
marized under  two  general  heads  :  First,  a 
membership  seat ;   then  patrons.      The  flue- 


^ali  Street  by  ttje  Bacfc  HDoor* 

tuations  of  the  tape  values  ( ? )  have  no 
terrors  or  charms  to  a  broker  who  is  the 
legitimate  type.  Like  the  Southern  negro 
parson's  definition  of  chicken-stealing  :  "  We 
catch  'em  comin'  and  goin' — bo'f  ways." 

Rise  or  fall  as  they  may,  stocks  must  be 
bought  and  sold  by  a  broker.  On  these 
sales  he  lives,  moves,  and  has  his  livelihood, 
in  the  commissions  he  exacts.  They  are  his 
pabulum  He  may  not  divide  commis- 
sions, else  the  governors  of  the  Stock 
Exchange,  on  conviction,  will  cast  him  out 
without  recourse.  He  can,  however,  mini- 
mize his  charges  when  employed  by  the 
year. 

This  is  the  opening  for  the  entry  of  the 
insider.  He  employs  a  considerable  num- 
ber   of  brokers   at   annual   rates,    and   they 


£lje  Heal  Manipulator* 


know  him,  then,  and  others  in  transactions. 
They  likewise  know  the  individual  in  a  few 
unimportant  transactions,  later  along,  show- 
ing good  faith  on  the  part  of  each  to  the 
contract.  They  also  know  the  insider  per- 
sonally, and  are  sometimes  fellow  clubmen, 
turfmen,  yachtsmen,  and  other  like,  brushing 
shoulders  with  him — "  only  this,  and  nothing 
more." 

The  legendary  Man  with  the  Iron 
Mask  is  no  more  of  a  mystery  to  the 
brokers  than  are  the  "  deals  "  of  a  ma- 
nipulator whose  chestnuts  they  rake  from 
the  fire. 

These  are  unsupported  assertions,  it  may 
be  alleged;  yet  they  can  be  verified.  It 
may  also  be  urged  against  the  preambles; 
that    strict    adherence    has    not,   apparently,. 

21 


WM  Street  by  tlje  Back  2Door* 

been  given  to  the   announced  plan   of  dis- 
cussion. 

Patience ;  softly ;  "  By  the  back  door  "  is 
one  caption  only.  Inside  information,  like 
circumstantial  evidence,  doesn't  grow  on 
^very  bush.  The  shoe  will  probably  pinch, 
and  one  needn't  put  one's  ear  to  the  ground 
to  detect  the  approaching  storm.  Even 
biblical  anathemas  may  (as  they  once  before 
have)  be  used  to  "  throttle  the  monster 
viper,  poisoning  the  air  with  his  venom." 
Only  thieves  and  robbers  (of  one's  char- 
acter) enter  by  back  doors,  may  be  probably 
again  heard — truth,  though,  always  prevails. 
The  "laager"  (to  employ  the  vernacular  of 
recent  South  African  messages),  or  camp, 
in  which  dwelleth  the  insider,  is  not  yet 
described,  hence  the  delay  in  rounding  out 
asservations.  22 


CHAPTER   III. 


arranging  t^e  (0im0  ana  laager 


THE    MEN    BEHIND    THE    GUNS   STILL   INVISIBLE. 

"The  voice  is  Jacob's  voice,  but  the  hands  are  the 
hands  of  Esau." 

Previously  it  has  been  shown  that  there 
are  men  behind  the  guns  in  Wall  Street 
stock  manipulations,  as  in  war.  The  Wall 
Street  laager,  or  camp,  in  which  dwells  the 
insider,  or  manipulator,  must  needs  be 
arranged  with  consummate  skill.  The  iden- 
tity of  the  insider  inside  or  out  of  laager 
once  known,  the  daily  transactions  in  a 
deal  would — must — stop. 

23 


Wall  Street  b?  t\)t  liBaefe  SDoor* 

No  more  astute  citizens  are  to  be  found, 
in  any  given  sphere,  than  the  New  York 
Stock  brokers. 

The  lambs,  or  public,  are  little  less,  if 
any,  wide  awake.  It  behooves  the  wizard, 
therefore,  to  conceal  his  identity  and  arrange 
his  plans  with  matchless  cunning.  And  he 
always  does,  as  a  rule.  Exceptions  are  now 
and  then  noted  on  the  financial  horizon. 
"  Deacon  "  White  and  James  R.  Keene  once 
departed  from  this  safe  rule  in  their  dis- 
astrous wheat  corners.  So  did  Uncle  Rus- 
sell Sage  in  "put  and  call"  days.  All  three 
have  learned  better — cut  their  wisdom  teeth. 

Our  friend  the  insider  is  never  a  broker. 
There  have  been  but  three  great  insiders  in 
American  history,  not  one  of  whom  was 
ever  so  much  as  a  member  of  the  Stock 
Exchange.  24 


Jay  Gould. 
'The  wily  wizard  was  a  bit  of  a  lawyer,  too! 


Arranging  tfye  &un&  ana  ilaager* 

Having  selected  his  broker,  then,  the 
insider  must  be  shown  to  have  exhibited 
another  phase  of  cunning.  The  financial 
standing  of  a  broker  is  a  matter  of  no 
moment  whatsoever,  paradoxical  as  the 
assertion  sounds  at  first  mention.  His 
probity  and  general  repute  must  be  Ai; 
not  so  his  bank  account,  although  many  of 
them  are  actually  millionaires.  If  he  is 
solvent,  well  and  good ;  his  transactions 
then  simply  "  go  through/' 

If  he  be  insolvent,  his  "  short "  or  "  long  " 
stocks,  as  the  case  may  be,  are  sold  "under 
the  rule,"  or  for  cash.  This  clears  up  a 
seeming  paradox. 

First,  last,  and  all  through  any  deal  the 
insider  must — always  does — maintain  abso- 
lute control  of  more  than  three-quarters  of 

25 


^all  Street  b^  t\)t  115acb  EDoor, 


the  capital  stock  of  the  concern  which  he 
is  popularizing. 

Any  and  every  exception  to  this  rule 
always  eventuates  in  disaster  to  the  insider 
running  the  pool. 

It  may  seem  less  dogmatic,  perhaps, 
to  some  skeptical  readers,  to  prove  this 
statement. 

(i)  When  Flood,  Fair,  Mackay,  and 
O'Brien  manipulated  (always  and  solely 
through  Flood)  the  great  Bonanza  deal, 
floating  an  aggregate  investment  (by  "  out- 
siders") of  more  than  four  hundred  million 
dollars,  this  ratio  of  control  of  the  stocks 
was  always  in  Flood's  strong-box.  It  was 
an  instance  of  selling  goods  and  still  retain- 
ing them.  It  is  always  so,  always  will  be, 
must  be,  in  all  real  deals.      Flood  paraded 

26 


arranging  tlje  &ung  an&   JLaager* 

the  contents  of  his  strong-box,  holding  only 
this  control,  again  and  again,  to  newspaper 
reporters,  brokers,  lambs,  et  al.,  by  all  of 
whom  he  was  constantly  assailed  for  bear- 
ing his  own  stocks.  Nothing  like  ocular 
demonstration  to  spike  such  guns,  and  the 
man  behind  the  guns  was  there  to  spike 
them  when  needful.  Flood  ran  the  entire 
deal,  from  start  to  finish,  with  the  gigantic 
sum  of  $400,000,000  of  actual  pay-gold  in 
sight  in  the  mines,  as  demonstrated  by 
world-famed  specialists,  and  corroborated 
subsequently  by  that  amount  produced. 
He  simply  sold  investors,  gamblers,  those 
who  take  "flyers/'  margin  dealers — all  who 
would  buy,  or  even  nibble — sold  them 
stock,  yet  he  never  lost  control  of  three- 
quarters  of  the  stock.       In   the   wind-up    he 

27 


^all  Street  b£  ttse  Back  moot. 

and  his  confreres  had  the  $400,000,000,  the 
lambs  had  the  experience — and  the  actual 
capitalization  still  remained  with  Food.  Of 
course,  this  particular  deal  presented  the 
pleasant  opportunity  of  levying  assessments 
upon  stockholders,  in  default  of  payment, 
while  the  stock  reverted  to  Flood.  But  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  same  is  true 
in  the  East,  in  railway,  industrial,  and  other 
corporate  properties  where  assessments  are 
as  common,  if  not  as  numerous,  as  autumnal 
leaves  in  Valambrosa.  "  Opportunities  make 
thieves  " —  sometimes. 

(2)  Years  later  that  wizard  of  wizards, 
Jay  Gould,  did  precisely  the  same  thing  in 
"M.  O.  P."*  and  two  or  three  other  stocks. 
He  trotted  out  his  strong-box,  under  similar 

*  Missouri  Pacific. 

28 


Arranging  ttje  tfmntf  anD  JLaagcr* 

conditions  of  outcry  ;  exhibited  his  absolute 
control  of  more  than  three-quarters  of  the 
capital  stock,  and  that,  too,  despite  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  shares  officially 
reported  as  sold  on  the  tape  of  the 
Exchange  —  and  so  recorded^  too. 

The  heirs  of  that  illustrious  exotic  still 
control  the  management  of  most  properties 
bequeathed  by   the  late  deceased. 

(3)  Later  still  the  now  defunct  old 
"Public  be  D — d"  engineered  the  renowned 
"Lake  Shore"  deal.  Here,  too,  once  again 
came  in  the  exhibit  to  newspapers,  brokers, 
and  lambs  of  the  possession  and  control^ 
unbroken^  of  the  ownership  of  the  stock. 

As  in  the  Gould  deal,  so  in  that  of  Lake 
Shore,  the  peg  was  pulled  out  and  down 
plunged  the  stock  from  $180,  or  $80  above 


^ali  Street  bp  t\)t  Back  SDoor* 

par,  to  $  50  below  par,  and  yet  the  control 
always  remained,  and  still  does,  with  the  peg 
owner. 

Funny,  isn't  it?  Fact,  nevertheless,  and 
of  record. 

(4)  Lastly,  for  illustration  and  confirma- 
tion of  the  positions  assumed,  the  celebrated 
"  Manhattan  Elevated "  corner,  conducted 
by  Cyrus  W.  Field,  of  international  renown, 
as  a  cable  man,  but  a  man  of  straw  in  con- 
tact with  an  insider,  will  suffice. 

Cyrus  was  cunning,  not  shrewd,  not  deep, 
as  events  prove.  He  was  in  the  heyday  of 
his  fame,  and  had  seen  his  name  and 
achievements  so  frequently  exploited  in 
write-ups  that  this  may,  in  charity,  have 
unbalanced  his  brain,  for  later  in  life  he 
purchased   an  afternoon  newspaper. 

30 


^x 


Cyrus  Field. 
"Cunning,  not  shrewd,  not  deep. 


Arranging  tfce  <3un&  ana  tlaager* 

His  lack  of  knowledge  in  deals  was 
shown  from  the  fact  that  he  only  owned  a 
trifle  more  than  one-half  of  the  capital  stock 
of  Manhattan. 

That  was  the  rock  on  which  he  foundered. 
The  whole-thing  type,  the  Simon-pure  in- 
sider, never  makes  such  a  mistake.  Cyrus 
had  his  newspaper  deprecate  the  manage- 
ment of  Manhattan,  cast  systematic  and 
persistent  slurs  upon  the  earning  capacity — 
in  short,  he  attempted  to  "  down  "  his  own 
investments.      Cunning  Cyrus. 

Like  all  real  insiders  do,  our  Cyrus  went 
short  of  his  own  stock,  buying  through 
one  broker  and  selling  through  another.  A 
Boston  lamb  was  finally  enmeshed,  speared 
by  crafty  Cyrus,  who  then  reversed  his 
tactics,  of  course,  and  squeezed  the  Hub  pet 

3* 


^all  Street  b£  t\)t  ilBacfc  EDoor* 

of  Little  Mary  fame  until  the  poor  thing 
settled  at  Si 80  per  share  on  some  15,000 
shares  shorted  at  about  $50.  A  little 
figuring  with  pencil  and  paper  will  show 
the  fleece  garnered. 

To  maintain  this  fictitious  market  price  of 
$180,  and  that,  too,  on  a  non-dividend-pay- 
ing stock,  as  it  then  was,  cost  this  good  man 
dearly.  All  the  dumpings  and  unloaded 
holdings  of  the  hungry  holders  of  nearly 
one-half  of  the  stock,  by  outsiders,  fell  into 
Cyrus's   coffers   nolens  volens. 

Jay  Gould  dumped  this  lot  on  poor  old 
Cyrus,  and  when  the  old  man  collapsed, 
financially  and  mentally,  Gould  openly 
boasted :  "We  have  left  Cyrus  Field  his  real 
estate,  anyway. "  Gould,  later  on,  owned 
Manhattan   Elevated. 

32 


CHAPTER  IV. 


£n  3!ttgtDer  Wfyo  Wa$  €>nly  a  f  afee* 


A   MODERN   RED-HAIRED   ABSALOM. 

A  "  fraud  "  or  "failure,"  in  the  vernacular 
of  the  Street,  is  a  would-be,  self-styled  in- 
sider, or  stock  manipulator.  The  specimen 
is  few  and  far  between.  His  grapes  are 
always  sour.  Like  a  perambulating  scissors- 
grinder,  he  trumpets  his  approach.  He 
even  pays  for  his  newspaper  puffs.  The 
real  thing,  on  the  other  hand ;  prefers  dark- 
ness rather  than  light.  The  fish  enmeshed 
in  his  net  never  know  their  captor.      It  has 

33 


^all  Street  b^  ttje  Back  EDoor* 

heretofore  been  shown  that  the  real  insider 
resides  in  a  laager.  The  contrast,  therefore, 
of  a  fraudulent  type  of  this  limited  class  will 
be  sufficiently  understood,  it  is  hoped,  as 
forming  the  basic  intent  of  this  illustration. 
Let's  look  at  the  contrast,  then,  by  calling 
names  out  in  meeting. 

Albert  Stockwell,  the  son-in-law  of  Howe, 
of  sewing-machine  fame,  once  entered  Wall 
Street  with  $4,000,000 — of  his  wife's  money. 
He  was  a  Novus  Homo  in  the  broadest  ac- 
ceptation of  the  term,  and  heralded  his  entre 
much  after  the  fashion  of  the  clown  entering 
the  circus  ring. 

(1)  He  selected  "Pacific  Mail,"  became 
its  president,  began  his  manipulation  (?)  of 
the  stock,  joined  many  of  the  clubs,    paid 

34 


&u  31u0iDer  Wfyo  W%&  ©nip  a  jfafee* 


cash  for  his  newspaper  puffs,  and  soon  be- 
came "  President  Stockwell  "  whenever  and 
wherever  spoken  of  or  addressed. 

(2)  The  stock  soon  soared  skyward  for  a 
time.  Reams  of  it  came  out  on  the  market, 
causing  a  depletion  of  the  bank  balance  of 
the  president  in  consequence.  Prices  must 
be  maintained. 

He  must  either  buy  all  offerings  at  the 
fictitious  market  price  or  see  a  collapse  of 
quotations.  Clubmen,  bankers,  the  Street, 
indeed,  knew  the  status  of  the  man  and  his 
deal,  and  called  him  "  Stockwell."  His 
financial  back,  or  vertebrae,  soon  became 
worse  twisted.  He  was  on  the  familiar 
treadmill,  seeking  in  vain  for  further  loans 
upon  his  collateral. 

(3)  The  end    came   finally,  and  brought 

35 


^ail  &txttt  bp   t^e  HBacfe  EDoor, 

with  it  his  only  gratuitous  or  unpaid  puff*. 
With  his  collapse  the  knights  of  the  pencil, 
in  quest  of  an  authentic  statement  as  to 
rumors,  secured  an  audience.  The  victim 
in  one  of  these  interviews  summed  up  his 
own  case  tersely  thus:  "Once  I  was  Presi- 
dent Stockwell,"  then  I  was  afterward  called 
"  Stockwell,"  now  I  am  known  simply  as 
"  that  red-headed  Stockwell  " — "  hoisted  on 
his  own  petard.** 

<* 

An  even  more  recent  incident  may  em- 
phasize the  position  taken.  Even  so  con- 
servative a  publication  as  the  New  York 
Herald  declared,  in  April,  1900,  in  forceful 
Anglo-Saxon,  that  a  much  smaller  figure 
•than  Stockwell  (one  John  W.  Gates)  was 
on  the  rack.     The  Herald  affirmed  :    "A  few 

36 


an  3f|n*i8rr  Wljo  Wz&  ®nlv  a  jfafee* 

weeks  ago  Gates  came  prominently  before 
the  public  eye  because  of  his  self-advertised 
winnings.  Now  to  introduce  the  name  of 
Gates  is  to  invite  a  torrent  of  profanity.  It 
is  doubtful  if  public  opinion  against  Jay 
Gould  and  Jim  Fisk  ever  ran  higher  than  it 
now  does  against  John  W.  Gates,  who  has 
come  out  of  the  West  and  sandbagged  Wall 
Street." 

And  yet  the  usually  well-informed  Herald 
misses  the  point  of  its  comment  later  along, 
in  another  article,  by  stating  that  Gates 
spoiled  a  bull  market.  Not  possible ;  no 
such  man,  nor  a  regiment  of  them,  could, 
for  even  a  day,  make  or  unmake  a  bull 
or  bear  market  in  Wall  Street.  All  such 
allegations  are  mere  moonshine. 

"  One     swallow     doesn't    make    spring." 

37 


^all  Street  by  tfce  Back  2>oor. 

Neither  does,  nor  ever  did,  nor  ever  can, 
such  types  of  insiders  as  Stockwell  and 
Gates,  constitute  the  specimen  under  review. 
The  true  manipulator  has  a  game  of  his 
own,  like  the  owners  of  Monte  Carlo.  He 
never  plays  at  another  man's  game  — 
and  therefore  succeeds,  as  will  be  seen 
later  on. 

Curiosity  may  be  aroused  by  those  who 
follow  these  pages  as  to  the  identity  of  the 
veritable  and  genuine,  living  Insider.  If  it 
shall  be  truthfully  and  logically  shown,  as 
we  proceed,  that  no  one  else  than  the  indi- 
vidual under  treatment  could  or  can  possibly 
fill  the  requirements  of  the  clothing  being 
constructed  for  him  herein,  well  and  good. 
The  subject  deserves  the  painstaking,  labor- 
ious experienced  analyses  to  be  employed  in 
his  identification.  38 


an  3!n$iaer  W\)o  Wz&  ®ni£  a  iFake* 

To  anticipate,  for  a  moment,  the  explana- 
tion, it  may  be  stated  that  his  identification 
will  not  be  guesswork  to  those  who  may 
follow  these  conclusions.  There  will  be  no 
need  to  employ  the  high-sounding  terms  of 
a  sophomore,  and  head  the  explanatory  and 
culminating  chapter,  when  it  is  reached,  as 
"Ecce  Homo.99 

"All  shall  know  him,  then,  from  the  least 
to  the  greatest " — of  those  who  may  follow 
the  developments  as  they  proceed. 

Some  one  may  ask:  "Is  there  only  one 
real  insider  in  North  America,  then  ? 

We  shall  see. 


39 


CHAPTER  V. 

^ott)  Lambg  are  Reared* 


WHO    DOES    THE    SHEARING: 

The  New  York  Stock  Exchange  has  fre- 
quently been  called  a  "  slaughter  house,"  an 
"abattoir/'  and  other  equally  malodorous 
names.  Perhaps  the  critics  squirmed  from 
burnt  financial  fingers !  The  fact  cannot  be 
controverted,  however,  that  the  tape  quota- 
tions, recording  fluctuations  of  listed  stocks, 
and  emanating  from  that  maelstrom,  have 
scuttled  many  crafts.  The  brokers  make 
the  prices,  press  the  button ;  the  unseen 
shearer  does  the  rest. 

40 


8?oto  flambtf  0re  £>t)eareD* 

One  writer,  in  a  Gotham  paper  a  decade 
or  more  ago,  exploited  the  game  — for  a 
time.  In  one  article  he  said:  "Gould's 
career  in  the  Street  is  blazed  by  annual  head 
and  foot  stones,  marking  the  graves  of  his 
victims. "  He  then  particularized,  mentioned 
names,  dates,  facts  —  in  a  word,  began  a 
logical  demonstration  of  his  subject.  Like 
David  of  old,  he  soon  slept  with  his 
fathers. 

Let  us  particularize,  too.  The  cc  Third 
Avenue"  deal,  in  March,  1900,  offers  an 
example  worthy  of  study,  and  an  exami- 
nation of  official  data  bearing  upon  the 
matter. 

In  the  realm  of  gilt-edged  dividend- 
payers  Third  Avenue  seemed  practically 
peerless.     The  congested  traffic  over  its  lines 

41 


^all  Street  b?   ttje  Back  EDoor, 


increased  steadily.  Its  treasury  bulged  with 
the  plethora  of  $16,000,000  in  cash.  The 
stock  soared  to  Si 50  —  par  being  $100  — 
and  as  a  seven  per  cent,  dividend-payer, 
some  even  predicted  figures  next  to  Stand- 
ard Oil  stock,  then  about  $300. 

"A  speck,  no  larger  than  a  man's  hand," 
arose  on  the  financial  horizon  one  day. 
Rumors,  always  unauthenticated,  were  noised 
about  the  Street,  in  which  "a  reduction  of 
Third  Avenue's  dividend  is  thought  proba- 
ble," and  "the  directors,  as  is  learned  from 
sources  of  credible  authority,  will  scale  the 
quarterly  dividend  to  six  per  cent,  annual 
rate. 

These,  and  kindred  rumors,  caused  a 
ripple.  Other  stones,  and  larger  ones,  were 
cast  into  the  pool,  and  the  ripples  grew  to 

42 


J^oto  Jlamba  are  £>t)eareih 

waves.  Small  holders  saw  the  $250  quota- 
tions scaled  to  $200,  and  in  short  order. 
Then  came  a  landslide  into  the  pool  of 
waters,  followed,  in  rapid  succession,  by  a 
glacier,  and  the  stock  tumbled  from  $200  to 
$150,  then  to  1 1 00  (par),  then  to  $50,  a 
clean  fall  of  200  points.  All  small  holders, 
all  "stop  orders/'  all  minor  impediments, 
were  ground  to  atoms.  Even  a  $60,000,000 
deficit  was  affirmed  to  exist,  while  the 
$16,000,000  cash  in  the  treasury  was 
declared  to  be  only  a  myth. 

At  $50,  however,  the  glacier  found  a 
footing  —  like  Noah's  dove  when  liberated 
from  the  ark — and  began  its  upward  course. 
The  poor  lambs — those  innocents  with  short 
purses,  or  horns — were  spitted. 

From  $50,  the  squeezing  began,  and  the 

43 


Wr\\  Street  by  ttje  HBacb  2T>oot\ 

shorts,  who  saw  bottom  at  $5  (even  less),  and 
those  also  who  predicted  the  levying  of  an 
assessment  of  $25  per  share  on  the  stock — 
all  these  lambs  were  sheared.  The  stock 
soared  upward  once  more.  Who  caused 
the  reaction?  Every  effect  must  have  a 
cause.  Who  determined  upon  and  anchored 
the  wreck  at  $50?  Who  even  used  the 
Associated  Press,  generally  recognized  as 
trustworthy,  to  disseminate  contradictions  of 
unfounded  rumors  ?  Perhaps  it  may,  one 
day,  be  a  solved  mystery.     Who  ! 

This  illustration  would,  perhaps,  be 
deemed  incomplete^  even  incongruous,  by 
some,  were  more  details  not  given.  Apro- 
pos, therefore,  of  the  part  played  by  the 
insider  in  utilizing  the  Associated  Press, 
here  is  an  example  of  the  craftiness.     The 

44 


Jjoto  JUmbs  are  ^eareD* 

item  below  was  brazenly  scattered  broadcast 
and  read,  in  April,  1900,  when  issued,  as 
follows  : 

THIRD    AVENUE    CASE    DROPPED. 


Grand  Jury  Found  Nothing  Criminal  in  the 
Wrecking. 

New  York,  March  29. —  The  Grand 
Jury  has  abandoned  its  investigation  into 
the  alleged  wrecking  of  the  Third  Avenue 
Railroad  Company. 

This  fact  was  announced  to-day  by 
Assistant  District  Attorney  Unger,  who 
said  he  had  advised  that  body  to  discon- 
tinue the  inquiry  because  there  is  nothing 
to  show  the  violation  of  any  criminal  law. 

As  a  literary  gem,  the  above  is  unique. 
As  a  Delphic  oracle  effusion,  it  was  a 
success. 

45 


^all  Street  b£  ttje  Back  2Door, 

Why,  certainly,  by  all  means,  let  the  inves- 
tigation cease.  Even  our  gatherers  of  news, 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  often  seem 
to  be  under  the  control  of  the  real  insider 
when  a  deal  is  on  or  off. 

Oh  !  it  was  pitiful ; 
Near  a  whole  city  full ; 
Friends  it  had  none. 

Even  this  old  saw  was  trotted  out  as  a 
sort  of  requiem  over  the  remains.  The 
picture  soon  became  kaleidoscopic,  however, 
and  the  squeezing  grew  even  amorous  in  its 
intensity.  The  shorts  literally  tumbled  over 
themselves  in  attempting  to  cover,  and 
the  spectacle  was  enlivened  accordingly  by 
watching  the  assiduous  and  conjoined  effort 
of  two  allied  forces,  the  shorts  and  the 
insider,  each  boosting  the  poor,  erstwhile, 
putrid   remains.  ,g 


Up  went  values  (save  the  mark),  and 
$  1 25  was  soon  recognized  as  about  the 
proper  figure  at  which  shorts  were  to  be 
corraled. 

The  shearing  was  complete.  The  wool 
was  carefully  housed. 

The  "  nasty  rumors  "  against  the  integrity 
of  the  management,  as  also  vs.  the  Gibral- 
tar-like stability  (financially  phrased)  of  the 
corporation,  were  duly  characterized  as  so 
many  libelous  effusions. 

Lastly  —  not  least  —  the  Metropolitan 
Traction  Company  was  discovered  one 
bright  morning  to  be  announced  as  the 
owner  of  the  control  of  the  Third  Avenue's 
stock.  The  farce  was  ended. 
(Curtain.) 


47 


l^all  £>trret  bp  tfce  Back  EDoor* 

Head  lines  were  abundant.  Head  and 
foot  stones  were  in  order.  Perhaps  they  will 
be  seen  later.  The  victims  of  the  squeezer 
were  legion.  The  wrecking  was  a  veritable 
juggernaut,  and  our  genial  friend,  the 
Insider,  drove  the  machine  from  start  to 
finish.  His  identification  has  not  yet  been 
heralded  and  placarded  abroad.  Time  and 
patience  may  solve  the  mystery. 

"  When  found,  make  a  note  of  it,"  was 
the  immortalized  Captain  Cuttle's  favorite 
expression  . 

"  No  rogue  e'er  felt  the  halter  draw, 
With  good  opinion  of  the  law." 


48 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Ci»o  fearers  anD  C^etr  ^et^oDjs 


AN    ACCOMMODATING    JUDGE. 

In  a  previous  chapter  it  has  been  pointed 
out  how  lambs  were  sheared.  The  present 
purpose  is  an  attempt  to  designate  one 
shearer  —  analyze  a  few  of  his  methods  — 
indicate  the  second  shearer,  and  point  a 
moral  as  well.  Of  course,  men  will  con- 
tinue to  speculate  while  we  continue  to 
sojourn  on  this  planet.  They  will  also  con- 
tinue, as  a  majority,  no  doubt,  to  play  at 
another  man's  game,  and  be  fleeced  accord- 
ingly.    These  pages,  therefore,  will   not   be 

49 


^all  Street  b£  ttjr  HBacfe  SDoor* 

encumbered  with  gratuitous  advice  (rarely 
taken),  cautioning  nibblers  to  let  severely 
alone  all  stock  dealings.  The  iniquitous 
and  devious  methods  of  the  manipulator 
will  continue  to  be  the  theme  discussed. 

Daniel  Drew,  than  whom  no  more  crafty 
financier,  perhaps,  ever  lived,  will  be  selected 
as  a  typical  shearer. 

He  was  the  discoverer  of  the  value  of 
court  injunctions  in  assigned  causes  for 
changing  the  courses  of  listed  stock  quo- 
tations. 

"Uncle"  Daniel  was  almost  uniformly 
discovered  to  always  have  stocks  for  sale 
when  they  were  advancing,  and  was  con- 
stantly found  to  be  short  in  the  market 
when  stocks  were  tumbling. 

He   crossed   swords    for   years,  and   with 

50 


®too  fearers  ana  {Eijetr  ^etljofig* 


great  financial  success,  against  that  wizard 
of  finances,  the  lately  lamented  Gould,  in 
manipulating  and  finally  wrecking  Erie. 

Uncle  Daniel  gathered  many  baskets  of 
loaves  and  fishes  in  these  encounters.  In 
fact,  his  enemies  were  wont  to  declare  that 
he  had  but  seven  principles  —  five  loaves 
and  two  fishes. 

However  the  truth  may  exist,  the  fact 
remains  that  Uncle  Daniel  ultimately 
assumed  a  sanctimonious  demeanor.  He 
likewise  became  philanthropic  at  this  epoch 
of  his  career,  endowing  in  New  Jersey 
(whose  courts  had  given  him  so  many 
friendly  injunctions)  a  seminary.  It  was  for 
male  students,  bear  in  mind,  and  those  of 
theological  proclivities  only. 

This  institution  was   built   and   equipped 

5i 


^ali  Street  by  ttje  Back  HDoor* 

by  the  illustrious  namesake  of  the  man 
commonly  associated  with  the  den  of  lions 
in  Scripture.  He  likewise  endowed  it  hand- 
somely (there  was  a  string  to  a  part  of  the 
endowment,  but  that  is  another  story)  to 
the  extent  of  some  $400,000,  and  only  — 
modestly — required  in  return  that  the  insti- 
tution should  bear  his  name.     It  does. 

Uncle  Daniel's  wily  antagonist  was  sancti- 
moniously inclined,  too.  As  has  been  here- 
tofore mentioned,  he  was  a  devout  preyer. 

Jay  Gould  found  a  most  congenial  run- 
ning mate  in  the  person  of  Jim  Fiske. 
These  two  worthies  claimed  to  own  Erie, 
and  made  out  a  tolerably  clean  title  to  their 
claim.  The  sequel  shows  their  masterful 
control  of  the  situation,  at  any  rate.  They 
played  the    Samson   act,  and  wrecked   Erie 

52 


Daniel   Drew. 

'No  more  crafty  financier  ever  lived." 


®too  fearer*  ana  tEljeir  spetfco&g* 

and  Uncle  Daniel  simultaneously.  Drew 
pulled  himself  together  for  one  more  effort 
to  retrieve  his  fortunes.  He  showed  the 
cloven  foot,  however,  and  pointed  out  the 
African  in  the  woodpile,  by  withdrawing  the 
$400,000  endowment,  or  much  of  it,  from 
his  pet  seminary.  This  working  fund  was 
speedily  swallowed  in  Wall  Street,  and  the 
venerable,  cunning,  and  original-method-all- 
around  Daniel  died  a  pauper. 

How  did  Gould  accomplish  it?  Let's 
see.  Gould's  methods  were  very  simple. 
Uncle  Daniel,  at  the  zenith  of  his  prosper- 
ity, owned  a  very  convenient  printing  press 
in  New  Jersey.  He  ground  out  stock  ad 
libitum.  This  unstinted  supply  of  stock, 
together  with  the  injunctions  mentioned, 
compelled  Gould  to  adopt  heroic  methods, 

53 


WM  Street  by  t\)t  HBack  H>oor* 

if  he  could  save  himself  thereby.  Gould 
was  the  president  and  Fiske  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  Erie.  Their  offices  were 
ablaze  with  rich  tapestries  and  gilded 
ceilings.  All  the  arts  of  the  decorators 
were  exhausted  in  their  embellishment. 
Life-size  oil  portraits  of  Gould  and  Fiske 
hung  on  the  walls,  with  a  space  separating 
them  large  enough  for  another  portrait. 
These  portraits  were  designated  as  "  the 
two  thieves  of  Calvary,  with  Christus  lack- 
ing in  the  middle  of  the  group/'  by  that 
famed  wit,  W.  R.  Travers. 

To  correct  the  seeming  digression:  Gould 
simply  took  $9,000,000  cash  and  securities 
from  the  Erie  treasury.  The  wily  wizard 
was  a  bit  of  a  lawyer,  too,  as  the  incident 
showed,  and  his  weather  eye  was  well  kept 

54 


®too  fearers  aim  tJHjeir  spettjoDg* 

on  the  District  Attorney's  office  after  the 
appropriation.  Accordingly,  we  find  history 
to  show  that  Jay  Gould,  in  his  own  hand- 
writing, entered  upon  the  books  of  the  Erie 
corporation  a  statement  substantially  read- 
ing thus  :  "  Nine  million  dollars  taken  by 
Jay  Gould  from  the  Erie  Railroad  treasury, 
subject  to  call  and  demand  by  the  stock- 
holders or  proper   officers. " 

Of  course,  our  venerable  Uncle  Daniel 
sbon  discovered  this  "loan,"  and  promptly 
had  Gould  arrested  for  theft.  The  arrest 
occurred  in  New  York  City  late  one  Satur- 
day afternoon,  and  after  the  adjournment  of 
the  courts,  probably  in  the  hope  that  the 
wily  wizard  might  not  be  able  to  secure 
bail  bonds,  and  would  then  have  to  lie  in 
the    Tombs    over    Sunday.      Uncle    Daniel 

55 


^all  Street  bp  t\)t  Bach  Door. 

underestimated  his  enemy's  resourcefulness. 
Gould  had  convenient  bail — an  accommo- 
dating judge.  The  result  has  been  before 
stated,  viz.,  collapse  of  Drew,  and  Erie,  too. 

Of  course,  civil  action  followed.  On 
demand  by  the  proper  officials,  Gould  made 
restitution  of  the  $9,000,000.  The  same 
had  been  done  before  in  a  New  Orleans 
"  Spoon  "  transaction. 

The  actual  method  of  manipulation  in  the 
case  offers  no  material  difference  to  that 
pursued  in  others,  always  granting  that  all 
other  requirements  are  equal,  and  that  the 
captain  of  the  craft  treads  the  quarter-deck 
during  the  deal. 

To  illustrate :  Let  ten  brokers  at  any  call 
receive  satisfactory  orders  to  sell  110,000 
shares  of  any  given  listed  stock,  and  execute 

56 


the  order.  Let  ten  other  brokers,  under 
like  conditions,  buy  100,000  shares  of  the 
same  stock.  Result,  10,000  shares,  at  $100 
per  share,  have  been  marketed.  A  tidy 
transaction,  but  by  no  means  an  unusual 
one. 

It  needs,  now,  no  further  proof  to  truth- 
fully reaffirm  that  the  insider  must,  from  the 
nature  of  the  case,  be  incognito  to  all 
brokers,  banks  giving  them  his  orders,  and 
those  receiving  his  orders. 

Some  one  may  ask,  Can  it  be  shown  that 
any  living  man  in  America  can  now  pose  as 
such  an  adroit,  matchless  Jekyl  and  Hyde 
personage?  Yes.  Emphatically  yes.  Be  it 
understood,  however,  that  there  is  only  one 
such  now.     Who  is  he  ?      Patience. 

Nathan  said  unto  David, 

"Thou  art  the  man." 

5/ 


CHAPTER  VII. 

^>t(U  another  3)ngftJer'g  ^eal- 


SOME    MYSTIFYING    MANIPULATIONS. 

The  American  Sugar  Refining  Company, 
otherwise  commonly  known  as  the  Sugar 
Trust,  has  369,680  shares  of  common  stock. 
From  March  1  to  April  6,  inclusive,  of 
1900,  the  total  sales  of  "Sugar  "  shares  were 
officially  recorded  as  2,300,630  shares,  or 
more  than  six  times  the  whole  number  o^ 
shares  in  existence. 

Whence  did  they  come  ? 

Who  sold  them  ? 

Who  bought  them  ? 

58 


^till  another  J\n&iw&  HDeaL 


Sugar  fluctuated,  as  our  friend  the  manip- 
ulator pulled  the  strings,  from  103  up  to 
120,  within  a  few  days  during  April,  to  cite 
one  single  epoch. 

The  shorts  and  longs  alike  were  fleeced. 
The  twaddle,  even  idiotic  at  times,  of  some 
of  the  great  dailies,  in  their  alleged  reviews 
of  the  financial  affairs  of  that  particular  date, 
merits  quotation  here.  Its  perusal  will 
shade  the  contrasted  positions  assumed,  if 
nothing  else  be  accomplished. 

Let  us  quote  from  two  of  them  :  "The 
movement  of  prices  in  to-day's  (April) 
stock  market  largely  represented  a  contest 
of  speculative  forces  for  supremacy.  The 
force  of  reaction  finally  prevailed,  and  the 
market  closed  decidely  weak  and  at  a 
lower  level." 

59 


^ali  Street  bv  t\)t  Bacfe  £>oor. 

And  again,  from  another  great  daily : 
"  This  lower-level  result  was  achieved  after 
many  vicissitudes  and  extreme  irregularities, 
but  the  mere  fact  of  the  presence  of  an 
aggressive  bear  clique  in  the  market  served 
as  a  deterrent  to  the  buying  demand  from 
the  outsiders,  which  has  constituted  the 
underlying  strength  of  the  market." 

If  this  is  anything  but  wind,  meaningless 
words,  then  indeed  is  it  undiscoverable. 

The  manipulation  of  "  Pennsy  "  *  in  the 
same  month  was  a  noteworthy  and  smooth 
transaction.  Pennsylvania  is  a  "half-stock/' 
like  "  Lackawanna "  and  a  few  others. 
Some  readers  may  not  understand  the 
meaning  of  half-stock.  This  term  signifies 
that   Pennsy's   par  value   per  share   is   $50, 

*  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 

60 


g>till  another  iflnsi&er'tf  Deal* 

but  when  listed  on  the  Gotham  Exchange 
it  complies  with  the  requirements  of  that 
institution  and  is  quoted  and  traded  in  at 
$100  per  share. 

No  novice  could  have  engineered  Penn- 
sy's  recent  authorized  allotment  of  stock. 
He  must  have  been  the  true  blue,  able  to 
fool  the  Exchange,  its  members,  and  the 
public.     And  he  did. 

In  round  numbers,  some  $13,000,000  of 
the  stock  was  desired  to  be  sold. 

Preference  was  alleged  to  be  conceded  to 
stockholders  of  record.  The  sequel  showed 
that  the  price  was  screwed  up,  by  master- 
ful manipulation,  from  $132  to  $145.  It 
was  caused  to  advance  by  slow  strides,  in 
small  lots,  and  the  nibblers  took  the  entire 
allotment  chiefly  on  margin. 


WM  Street  b^  t^e  315acfe  HE>oot\ 

In  the  reaction  which  soon  followed 
Pennsy  came  down  from  its  lofty  quota- 
tions, falling  below  $127.  The  difference 
between  $127  and  J 145,  and  in  an  aggre- 
gate of  $13,000,000,  represents  a  superficial 
view  of  the  gleanings.  Truly,  Orientals  are 
not  alone  the  skilled  artisans  in  tricks  that 
are  mystifying.  Hosts  of  cases  of  burnt 
fingers  followed  this  tidy  deal.  It  was  one 
of  the  smoothest,  attended  with  less  genu- 
flexions, caused  no  panics,  sailed  smoothly 
along,  like  a  modern  submarine  craft ;  car- 
ried vast  freight,  and  landed  the  cargo  and 
super-cargo  in  a  haven  of  opulence.  The 
methods  were  simple,  unostentatious,  suc- 
cessful, admirable ! 


6z 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

9ln  gjwgtDer'g  pugtabt. 


A     PROFITABLE    EXPERIENCE. 

The  ear-marks  of  ye  real  manipulator  are 
not  always  as  long  and  prominent  as  the 
ears  of  the  animal  Baalam  once  rode.  The 
distinguishing  characteristics  of  this  biped 
are,  however,  sufficiently  pronounced  and 
diversified  to  enable  a  tolerably  shrewd 
guess  as  to  his  identity.  Being  a  man, 
then,  he  is  only  mortal,  and  his  frailties  are 
a  part  of  that  inheritance.  The  Insider 
whose  treatment  is  under  consideration  in 
these  pages  never  made  but  one  notable 
mistake — officially. 

63 


^all  Street  hv  ttje  ILBacfe  moot. 


It  is  not  a  mistake,  per  se>  to  employ  an 
avant  coureur,  or  press  agent,  as  one  insider 
does — sometimes.  His  entrance  upon  the 
stage  as  a  vender  is  heralded  by  a  proxy's 
use  of  paid  advertisements.  These  an- 
nouncements, like  the  ink  from  a  certain 
fish's  tail,  only  becloud  and  befog  the  air. 
They  are  so  much  dust  only,  and  designed 
to  lead  the  speculator  into  false  avenues  of 
knowledge. 

There  once  came  into  Wall  Street  a 
manipulator  from  a  section  where  trading  in 
railroad  stocks  was  then  unknown.  This 
man  enjoyed  rare  grazing  upon  the  suc- 
culent pastures,  under  which  gold  was  then, 
as  now,  found. 

He  migrated,  as  he  announced,  for  var- 
ious reasons.      One  such  was  that  trading  in 

64 


3n  3|n0tDer'0  sptetafce* 


gold  securities,  or  mining  stock,  had  fallen 
into  the  sear  and  yellow  leaf  of  imbecility — 
had  gone  where  the  woodbine  twineth, 
indeed. 

Another  reason  vouchsafed  for  his  arrival 
in  effete  East  was  that  he  had  guessed  the 
game  of  Flood  and  O'Brien,  and  had 
gathered  together  some  three  million  dol- 
lars. 

His  advent  was  accordingly  heralded  in 
Wall  Street  circles  with  many  trumpets, 
more  terrapin  dinners,  still  more  paid  news- 
paper announcements  of  his  real  intentions. 

All  this  dust  was  emasculated  from  the 
picture  of  real  acts,  with  one  exception. 

<* 

The  lately  lamented  Gould  was  then  in 
the  flesh,  and  very  much  in  evidence,  indeed, 

65 


^all  Street  bp  ttje  Back  SDoor- 

as  a  potential  entity  in  Wall  Street.  In  fact, 
Jay  was  at  the  zenith  of  his  fame  and  pros- 
perity. Men  who  had  for  years  publicly 
denounced  him  and  his  methods  began  to 
recant,  and  a  few  such  actually  sat  at  ban- 
quet tables  with  him.  His  political  cam- 
paign donations  may  have  been  contributing 
agencies,  as  they  were  in  six  figures.  He 
was  likewise  fresh  from  the  fields  of  conflict 
with  old  Cyrus  Field,  whose  dethronement 
has  heretofore  been  noted.  Then,  too,  his 
numerous  opposition  telegraph  companies 
were  absorbed  by  the  interests  at  that  time 
controlling  Western  Union. 

Our  suddenly  rich  $3,000,000  fledgling 
may  have  been  envious  of  the  wizard's 
fame.  In  any  event,  he  made,  at  this  point, 
his  first  public  mistake,  by  announcing,  and 

66 


#n  3fltt0tDer'0  ^istafce* 


attempting  to  carry  into  effect,  his  real 
purpose. 

In  the  Gotham  dailies  appeared  a  state- 
ment reading  substantially  like  this : 

"Jimmy  says  he  will  have  Gould  on 
Broadway  within  a  year,  with  a  hand-organ 
and  monkey." 

The  outcome  is  widely  and  generally 
remembered,  no  doubt,  by  students  of  finan- 
cial episodes  in  the  Street.  Gould  main- 
tained business  at  the  old  stand  until  he 
died,  many  years  afterward. 

The  fledgling,  on  the  other  hand,  cut  one 
of  his  denies  sapientae.  He  likewise  sharp- 
ened them,  for  he  gnawed  a  file  in  his  con- 
test with  Gould.  The  particular  file  in  this 
instance  was  Union  Pacific,  one  of  the  pets 
of  Gould  at  that  time. 

67 


WM  Street  bp  ttje  315acfc  moot. 

The  three  million  dollars  of  our  newly 
rich  manipulator  was  cut  into  two  parts, 
after  the  contest,  one-half  going  into 
Gould's  coffers,  the  other  having  been  pre- 
viously settled  on  our  friend's  wife.  This 
nest-egg  was  the  basis  of  his  future  pros- 
perity. 

Fools  never  change.  Wise  men  often  do. 
The  meat  on  which  this,  our  Caesar,  feeds, 
will  be  described  in  subsequent  chapters. 


68 


CHAPTER   IX. 

cBnter  dBfoltat^  anD  t^e  ^ero  ot 
Cordage* 


ONE    TALENT    WAS     SUFFICIENT. 

Pigmies  in  the  financial  arena  have  been 
tentatively  treated,  heretofore.  Their  brazen, 
loud-mouthed  methods  have  been  shown, 
and  their  failures.  Henceforth  discussion 
will  apply  to  the  merits  (?)  or  the  converse 
of  the  virile  insider.  It  has  already  been 
pointed  out  that  this  genius  is  the  exact 
opposite  of  his  imitators.  He  herds  in  a 
flock  by  himself.  Some  critics,  perhaps 
with  a  grain  of  malice,  have  been  quoted 
69 


^all  Street  b?  ttje  115acb  moot. 

as  thanking   the   Lord   that   so   few   of   the 
species  live. 

Whatever  the  reason,  the  truth  remains 
that  insiders,  like  angels'  visits,  are  few  and 
far  between.  An  impartial  and  competent 
compiler  of  statistics  on  this  head,  during 
the  past  three  or  four  decades,  can  sum  up 
the  list,  in  North  America  and  Europe  as 
well,  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand. 

<* 

One  such  man  only  is  now  living  in  this 
country.  Another,  whose  life  was  full  of 
honors,  died  recently.  The  latter  had  been 
in  retirement  for  several  years  from  the 
market.  A  mighty  Goliath  he  was,  in  his 
generation.  Tape  values,  emanating  from 
the  Gotham  Exchange,  were  mere  soap  bub- 
bles under  Cammack's   treatment.     Unlike 

70 


Addison   Cammack. 
'A  man  of  one  talent  only! 


€ntn  <0oltatl)  ana  ttje  $?ero  of  Corfcage* 

his  successor,  a  greater  man  in  all  particu- 
lars, Cammack  could  play  but  one  role — 
that  of  "bear."  For  at  least  twenty  years, 
in  the  zenith  of  his  fame  and  prosperity, 
Cammack's  press  agent  (for  ye  genuine, 
real  insider  has  a  full-fledged,  thoroughly 
equipped  press  agent),  swelled  the  financial 
and  reading  columns  of  many  metropolitan 
newspapers  with  real,  but  mostly  imaginary, 
accounts  of  the  Cammack  accomplishments. 

Of  course,  a  portion  of  such  notices  had 
a  stray  grain  of  truth  in  them.  The  bushel 
of  chaff,  however,  made  it  difficult  of  dis- 
covery. Cammack  was  feared,  and  with 
just  cause,  by  all  who  essayed  to  guess  his 
real  movements. 

Unfortunately  for  his  fame,  at  the  hands 
of    an    impartial     commentator,    Cammack 

7i 


^ail  Street  by  ttje  HBack  SOoor* 

possessed    but    one    talent,    as     has     been 
noted  above. 

He  may,  be  it  hoped,  reap  his  reward 
hereafter,  for,  verily,  "to  his  one  he  added 
yet  other  hundreds  of  talents :  a  good  and 
faithful  servant"  —  as  he  was.  He  was 
charged,  frequently,  with  hiding  his  light 
under  a  bushel,  and  because,  as  alleged, 
his  deeds  were  evil.  He  certainly  owned 
the  bushel  measure  for  ducats  before  his 
retirement. 

HERO    OF    CORDAGE. 

When  "Industrials,"  now  legion,  were 
first  listed  on  'Change  in  Gotham,  "  Cord- 
age "  easily  ranked  as  the  Kohinoor  of 
the  collection. 

As    its   name  suggests,  this   stock  repre- 

72 


(Enter  dJoltatt)  anD  tije  S?ero  of  Cordage* 

sented  the  amalgamation  of  a  majority  of 
the  cordage  manufacturing  concerns  in  the 
United  States.  The  press  agent  explained 
at  great  length  the  dead-sure  thing  in  divi- 
dends of  the  amalgamation.  The  roseate- 
hued  "  investment "  characteristics,  likewise, 
ascended  to  the  heavens,  in  verse,  prose,  and 
on  the  "  curb  "  by  voice.  Fish  were  shy  at 
the  outset,  but  the  press  censor  was  not 
then  in  evidence,  so  the  "certainties"  of 
the  investment  in  Cordage  shares  continued 
to  be  voiced,  and  sung,  even  more  vocif- 
erously. 

Still  the  "room-traders"  only  would  walk 
into  the  net,  and  then  only  on  their  margins. 

With  the  daily  fluctuations  following,  the 
tape  quotations  were  congested,  monopo- 
lized. 

73 


^all  Street  by  t\)t  Back  SDoor* 

Apparently  the  lambs  in  flocks  were 
coming  into  the  grazing  preserve  of  the 
Insider.  The  most  enticing  incentives  were 
disseminated.  The  bars  were  let  down. 
Everything  was  wide  open.  The  engineer 
at  the  throttle  put  on  150  degrees  of  steam. 
Still  the  dear  public  kept  aloof,  so  long  had 
they  been  instructed  solely  in  the  values 
represented  by  railroad  shares. 

And  now,  if  you  please,  observe  the  pro- 
tean characteristics  of  the  true  Insider,  for 
he  was  in  command ;  trod  the  quarter-deck 
alone;  was  absolutely  autocrat  of  the  situ- 
ation, as  he  always  is,  must  be,  would  he 
achieve  success — and  he  never  yet  entered 
Wall  Street  solely  for  his  health. 

One  Insider — the  one  and  only  one  now 

74 


(Enter  <£>oliatt)  ana  tije  l^ero  of  Cor&age* 

living — can  be  either  a  bull  or  bear.  He 
knows  full  well  how  to  love  either  charmer, 
if  the  other's  away. 

His  is  not  an  epidemic  like  the  leopard's, 
unchangeable.  Neither  are  his  spots.  But 
results  best  point  the  truth  of  allegations. 

As  has  been  noted,  all  the  wiles,  artifices, 
devices,  and  methods  of  the  press  agent 
added  to  the  soaring  quotations  of  Cordage 
stock — all  these  had  failed  to  bag  the  game, 
L  e.y  secure  the  public  purchases. 

THE    CORDAGE     DEAL. 

When  the  Colossus  of  Finance  was 
invited  to  manipulate  the  stock  of  the 
amalgamated  Cordage  Trust,  he  accepted — 
but  on  conditions. 

75 


^all  Street  b£  ttje  215acfe  2Door* 

One  of  these,  and  the  most  material  one, 
was  that  he  should  be  given  sole  custody 
(not  absolute  ownership,  mark  you)  of 
seven-eighths  of  the  capital  stock  of  the 
corporation.  Our  manipulator  is  far  too 
shrewd  to  actually  invest  in  any  such 
securities  (?). 

Well,  the  tin  box  in  a  safe-deposit  vault 
was  once  more  utilized.  The  key  was 
solely  in  the  possession  of  our  magician. 
This  careful  arrangement  left  but  one-eighth 
of  the  capital  stock  afloat,  or  in  the  hands 
of  outsiders. 

The  crank  was  soon  turned,  the  throttle 
opened,  and  the  tape-values,  or  records,  at 
once  responded  in  advancing  quotations. 
Moths  are  no  more  certainly  attracted  by  a 
burning    candle    than    are    Americans    and 

76 


(Enter  <3oiint\)  anD  t\)t  fytto  of  Corlmge* 

Englishmen  by  rapid  and  extensive  fluctu- 
ations in  stocks.  This  the  Insider  knows, 
and  acts  accordingly.  His  votaries  are, 
unknown  to  themselves,  under  a  post- 
hypnotic spell.  As  the  late  Phineas  T. 
Barnum  expressed  the  matter:  "Americans, 
especially,  love  to  be  fooled.,, 

After  some  thirty  days  of  activity,  the 
holders  of  the  outside  one-eighth  of  the 
floating  stock  became  nervous,  then  envious, 
next  certain  of  their  ability  to  determine 
the  future  trend  of  prices  in  Cordage. 

Had  it  not  advanced  steadily  and 
immensely  for  a  month?  Wasn't  that 
advance  heralded,  in  the  press,  as  based 
upon  the  "  earnings  of  the  concern  ? " 
Could  there  be  urged  a  plausible  reason 
why  a  seven  per  cent,  dividend  stock  should 

77 


^all  Street  bp  tije  115acfe  2Door, 

not  command  S200  per  share?  Wasn't 
that  the  investing  status  of  Third  Avenue, 
Harlem,  and  Lake  Shore?  Certainty  of 
such  sound  premises,  too,  was  accentuated, 
day  by  day,  in  the  financial  columns  of  the 
great  dailies.  These  could  not  be  subsi- 
dized. 

The  daily  record  of  the  tape  was  even 
plainer  to  our  wizard  than  was  the  hand- 
writing on  the  wall  to  Belshazzar.  In  that 
instance  one  Daniel  was  called  in,  we  are 
told,  to  translate.  In  the  tape  matter,  how- 
ever, the  maker  of  quotations  was  also  his 
own  translator. 

Our  Colossus,  accordingly,  soon  discov- 
ered that  brokers  were  buying  vastly  more 
stock  than  he  had  ordered  sold. 

It  took  no  mind  reader,  under  these  con- 

78 


€nttt  ^oltatt)  anD  ttje  S?ero  of  CorDage* 

ditions,  to  know,  cock  sure,  whence  came 
these  holdings.  Retribution  was,  and  always 
is,  easy  under  these  circumstances. 

The  toboggan-like  slide,  after  this  dis- 
covery, was  dominated,  engineered,  by  Our 
Hero  accordingly.  Paper  profits  of  nib- 
blers  melted  away  like  glaciers  in  the  Gulf 
Stream.  The  manipulator  simply  went 
short  of  his  own  stock,  and  knocked  the 
bottom  out  of  quotations  quite  as  easily 
as  he  had  boosted  them. 

Tumbling  quotations  were  even  more 
accelerated  than  the  prior  rises.  This,  too, 
was  steady,  and  accompanied  by  fulmina- 
tions  as  to  adverse  rumors — over-produc- 
tion; gold  exports,  and  kindred  skeletons. 
The  pyrotechnics  attracted  a  horde  of  fol- 
lowers, naturally.      Soon  the  market  became 

79 


^all  Street  b£  t^e  IBacfc  Door. 

horribly  oversold.  Delivery  day,  or  the 
day  for  settling  "seller  30,  seller  60  "  sales, 
drew  near  apace,  and  yet  nearer.  To  many 
it  was  a  veritable  Day  of  Judgment.  Con- 
tracts for  future  deliveries,  which  is  another 
explanatory  phrase  for  shorts,  had  piled  up 
in  brokerage  offices  by  the  ream.  Most 
of  such  deliveries  were  to  be  ultimately 
adjusted  in  the  unknown,  or  unrecognized 
interests  of  our  genial  Mephistopheles. 

Somebody  sold  short  on  Cordage,  and  that 
somebody's  orders  came  from  such  staple 
sources  that  the  brokers  were  envious,  each 
of  the  other,  for  a  slice  of  pie  from  such 
tables. 

Trailing  along  in  the  van,  or  in  the  wake, 
of  this  avalanche  of  short  sales  came,  of 
course,  the   votaries   at    the   shrine    of  this 

80 


(Enter  tiolintt)  ana  t\)t  J^ero  of  CorBage* 

Molock.  Their  members,  as  also  their 
sales,  were  only  limited.  In  their  aggre- 
gate, nevertheless,  they  constituted  the  cor- 
relation desired  by  Colossus. 

Settling  day  finally  opened.  The  then 
American  king  of  dudes,  E.  Berry  Wall, 
of  Cordage  renown,  was  strictly  "in  it" 
from  start  to  finish.  "  Others  also  ran," 
it's  true,  but  Berry  walked  only.  His 
locomotion  as  a  pedestrian  had  been  ac- 
quired in  two  separate  spheres.  He 
dropped  those  attainments  secured  in  the 
rope-walk  (for  he  was  of  the  Wall  family, 
of  Wall  Street,  engaged  in  manufacturing 
rope,  hence  his  identification  with  Cordage), 
and  became,  as  we  have  seen,  a  cake-walk, 
dudish  perambulator.  Then,  again,  Berry 
knew  the  turn  of  events  in  the  manipula- 
81 


^all  Street  b^  ttie  HBacfe  SDoor* 

tion  of  Cordage,  or  said  he  did.  This 
positiveness,  in  its  turn,  caught  several 
dudish  imitators.  All  of  them  boasted  (on 
paper)  large  profits,  when  Cordage  soared 
upward.  But  the  collapse,  sudden  and 
terrible,  of  the  Cordage  Trust  brought 
retribution  ruinous  to  these  light-weight 
"speculators." 


82 


CHAPTER  X. 

^ot»  an  alleged  "3Itt$itiet:"  failed. 


HIS    HOROSCOPE    CAST    BY    OTHERS. 

Considerable  attention  has  been  bestowed 
upon  emphasizing  the  postulates  advanced 
in  one  form  of  reasoning  employed  in  these 
pages.  This  is  the  style,  before  announced 
as  reductio  ad  absurdum^  or  "  all  other  con- 
clusions must  be  nonsense." 

It  has  been  the  purpose,  then,  to  alter- 
nate these  arguments,  interchanging  positive 
assertions  with  those  of  the  other  style. 
This  purpose  will  continue  to  dominate 
the  arrangement  of  incidents,  as  the  argu- 
ments advance  to  a  conclusion. 

83 


^ali  Street  by  t\)t  Bacfe  EDoor, 

We  have  seen,  in  the  foregoing  chapter, 
how  the  Hero  of  Cordage  amassed  wealth 
and  prestige  in  a  single  transaction.  It  is 
now  in  order  —  to  identify  our  man — to 
offset  that  picture  by  one  in  another  setting. 
This  one  is  a  cc  failure. " 

"  Now  Barabas  was  a  robber.'' 
<* 

Perhaps  no  more  impressive  instance  of 
a  signal  failure  could  possibly  be  selected 
than  that  of  Villard,  once  a  fairly  com- 
petent pencil-pusher  on  the  metropolitan 
press.  In  some  unexplained  manner  he 
had  become  acquainted  with  a  few  finan- 
ciers, probably  while  playing   his  avocation. 

As  to  finances,  stocks,  debentures,  etc., 
these  were  as  Sanskrit  to  him,  when  he  was 
called  into  action.      His  horoscope  had  been 

84 


il?oto  an  ailegeD  «31u0iW  jfaiUD, 

cast  for  him  by  others,  however,  and  he  was 
selected  to  run  the  most  notable  "  blind 
pool"  in  Wall  Street's  history.  Northern 
Pacific  wras  "dead."  It  was  putrid,  in  fact, 
financially,  at  that  particular  time,  and  the 
remains  were  ready  for  interment.  The 
corporation's  bones  had  bleached  almost  to 
dust  on  the  plains,  when  thrown  out  as 
worthless  by  Jay  Cook.  It  resembled  the 
plains  described  by  the  Scriptural  reference 
to  dead  men's  bones  resuscitated  by  Eze- 
kial. 

This  precious  scion,  whose  name,  it  is 
said,  was  not  Villard  at  all,  any  more  than 
it  was  Smith,  enjoyed  a  meteoric  renown. 
His  name  became  one  of  international 
scope,  for  a  season.  In  the  end,  when  it 
came,    his    fame    was    characterized    by    the 

85 


^all  Street  bp  tije  IBacfe  HDoor, 

sentence  following:     "He  smells  as  bad  as 
a  dead  whale  on  the  seashore." 

He  accepted  the  "trust/'  however,  and 
posed  under  the  nom  de  plume  of  Villard, 
and  twice  became  a  curtain-raiser.  His 
public  acts  are  a  part  of  the  financial  his- 
tory of  the  last  twenty-five  years,  and  are, 
therefore,  legitimate  topics  of  discussion. 
His  solid  gold  spike,  driven  by  him  at 
Yellowstone  Park  to  commemorate  the 
entire  of  Northern  Pacific  into  the  com- 
pany of  real  good  things,  actual  dividend 
investments,  needs  no  comment  here. 
Northern  Pacific  soon  relapsed  into  finan- 
cial rottenness  under  his  touch — "  the  touch 
of  death" — like  the  maid  of  Cleopatra  in 
Dickens's  "  Dombey  and  Son." 

Villard    posed    as    a    bankrupt,  caused,   it 

86 


fyo to  #u  ailegeD  ♦♦  3nntfiDer ,:>  jfailelh 

was  stated,  by  "sacrificing  his  fortune  in 
supporting  the  N.  P.  securities."  The 
directors  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Company- 
voted  Villard  a  $30,000  condolence.  With 
this  pittance,  as  his  alleged  remnant  of 
millions,  and  his  alleged  all,  he  returned  to 
his  Dutch  ancestral  home — for  a  period. 

All  this  time,  bear  in  mind,  he  never 
even  so  much  as  attempted  the  impossi- 
ble impersonation  of  an  insider.  He  was 
merely  a  stool  pigeon. 

In  a  few  short  years  these  same  blind- 
pool  financiers  rehabilitated  the  N.  P.  (or 
N.  G.)  and  recalled  Villard  to  the  helm.  It 
was  at  this  epoch,  and  soon  after  installa- 
tion, that  he  evidenced  self-importance. 
He  provided  himself  with  a  press  agent, 
entered  Wall  Street,  attempted  the  manipu- 

87 


WM  Street  b£  t\)t  Bacfc  moot. 

lation  of  N.  P.  shares,  and  collapsed,  bring- 
ing down  the  corporation  once  again  into 
ruin.  Then  he  left  the  country — for  the 
country's  good,  enemies  might  affirm,  with 
some  show  of  reason.     He  is  now  dead. 


88 


CHAPTER  XI. 


another  dSolDen  ^ptfee  Mz^piov 
gattf?atton* 


A    CHRISTENING    IN    THE     SUNNY    SOUTH. 

Still  another  Golden  Spike  incident  shot 
athwart  the  financial  skies  during  the  sum- 
mer months  of  1900. 

Followers  of  the  episodes  mentioned  need 
not  apprehend  a  recapitulation  of  the  Vil- 
lard  coup.  There  being  nothing  new  under 
the  sun,  it  appears  singular  that  this  last 
Spike  affair  should  have  been  characterized 
a  golden  one.  Iron,  steel,  any  other  metal, 
indeed,  could  have  been  used,  one  would 
89 


^all  Street  b^  ttje  Bacfc  moot. 

think.  Then,  too,  the  bombastic  announce- 
ments of  the  consummated  event,  recently 
celebrated  in  the  Sunny  South,  were  singu- 
larly like  the  Villard  affair. 

The  question  naturally  arises,  could  the 
blind-pool  magnates  in  each  case  have  been 
the  same? 

Reorganization,  and  organization,  are  by 
no  means  correlative,  or  even  interchange- 
able terms.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  explain 
their  separate  uses  and  meaning. 

An  almost  suicidal  war,  and  one  of 
seeming  necessity,  for  patronage  relent- 
lessly waged  between  most  of  the  railroad 
properties  ramifying  the  Southern  States. 
Different  ownerships,  different  manage- 
ments, diversified  patrons — these  and  many 
like  factors  were  so  many  entering  wedges 

90 


J.   Pierpont   Morgan. 
'In  at  the  birth,  the  christening  and  the  interment: 


another  d5olDeu  £>ptfce  K^aporgamjattom 

in  their  amiable  business  relationships.  The 
inevitable  resultant  effects  were  patent  to 
all  farseeing  men  of  affairs,  more  especially 
to  such  as  cast  longing  eyes  upon  their 
ownership. 

So  much  for  organization.  The  term 
"reorganization/'  on  the  other  hand,  has, 
of  late  years,  been  coined  into  u  Re-Mor- 
ganization."  Possibly  intended  to  imply 
that  J.  P.  Morgan,  the  distinguished 
banker,  knows  something  about  railroads. 
This  renowned  individual  has,  beyond  ques- 
tion, been  in  at  the  birth,  the  christening, 
and  the  interment  of  many  corporate 
careers. 

It  would  require  more  space  than  is  at 
command  in  these  pages  to  give  even  an 
outline  view  of  all  these. 

9l 


3£all  Street  b£  tije  Bacfc  ©oor* 

merriment  in  his  antics.  His  loud-mouthed 
interviews  seemed  but  unauthenticated  vitu- 
peration. 

Williams  has  ever  been  uubbed  a  modern 
Caesar,  plunging  into  the  whirlpool  of  finan- 
cial encounter  with  seemingly  frightful  odds 
arrayed  against  him.  Whether  his  reward 
will  be  oblivion,  like  Villard's,  or  a  palace, 
a  yacht,  and  the  golf  habit — as  accessories 
to  a  plutocrat  —  time  alone  can  determine. 
Fortunately,  as  some  think,  he  appears 
lately  to  have  subsided. 

It  is  one  thing  to  own  a  lot  of  "watered  " 
stocks,  and  quite  another  affair  to  unload 
them.  Stocks  have  but  two  uses.  One, 
to  be  employed  in  electing  directors ;  the 
other,  to  be  sold. 

94 


knottier  &oltmx  ^pifce  Ue^organi^atton* 

Even  such  a  financial  giant  as  old  Com- 
modore Vanderbilt  did  not  live  long  enough 
(and  he  was  about  eighty  years  of  age  when 
he  departed  this  life)  to  unload  his  hold- 
ings. His  successor,  William,  had  neither 
the  experience  nor  the  brains  to  do  it, 
although  he  dumped  $60,000,000  of  New 
York  Central  at  $130  on  the  blarsted  Brit- 
ish, ccdoncherknow.,,  The  Commodore's 
holdings,  however,  were  a  veritable  moun- 
tain, and  Bill  did  tolerably  well,  considering 
his  attainments. 

Re-Morganization,  however,  has  entered 
the  ring.  Through  this  subtle,  hypnotic 
medium,  countless  dumpings  have  been 
made.  But,  with  such  dumpings,  it  became 
necessary  to  have  ups  and  downs  to  the 
market.     Even    Re-Morganization   apostles 

9S 


Iffall  j&ttect  bg  tfr*  Baefc  SDoor, 

rose  equal  to  such  emergencies,  and  availed 
themselves  of  the  kindly  offices  at  the  only 
source  of  supply  for  such  a  commodity. 

Plainly,  one  insider  must  be  employed, 
on  his  own  terms,  in  all  such  transactions, 
otherwise  dismal  failure  ensues,  as  a  neces- 
sity. 


96 


Roswell   P.    Flower. 
"Lord  High  Protector  of  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit.' 


CHAPTER  XII. 


LotD  1$itf)  protector  of  CBtooftlyn 


BUT    HE    WAS    ONLY    A    NOVICE. 

The  late  Governor  of  New  York,  Ros- 
well  P.  Flower,  came  upon  the  stage  of 
national  finances  some  four  years  or  so  ago. 
He  had  long  been  a  noted  private  banker, 
prior  to  his  advent  as  a  so-called  manipu- 
lator of  stocks.  His  financial  birth,  like 
that  of  Augustus  Caesar,  was  deemed  aus- 
picious. Equipped  with  large  personal 
resources,  coupled  with  an  untarnished 
name,  and  with  a  host  of  followers,  he 
was,  indeed,  useful  —  to   his  sponsors. 

97 


^all  Street  b^   t\)t  115acfc  HDoor, 

An  intelligent  understanding  of  the  con- 
ditions surrounding  the  street  railway  sys- 
tem of  Brooklyn,  at  Flowers  entrance,  is 
in  order,  to  such  readers  as  may  not  be 
fully  informed  on  that  head.  That  great 
City  of  Churches  was  then  traversed  by 
clashing,  divergent,  incongruous  systems  of 
surface  and  elevated  railway  lines.  Some 
three  elevated  systems  waged  a  fratricidal 
warfare,  each  against  the  other.  Four 
horse-car  surface  lines  were  constantly  cut- 
ting each  other's  throats.  That  eminent 
type  of  philanthropists  (the  "only"  and 
"pious"  Deacon  Richardson)  controlled 
two  of  the  latter  class,  and  for  years  suc- 
cessfully "enjoined"  the  promoters  of  either 
elevated  or  real  rapid-transit  systems.  The 
truly  good  man  did   not,  it    is    quite    true, 

98 


JlorD  S?tglj  protector  of  HBroobl^n  &♦  X&. 

improve  his  own  lines.  Neither  did  he 
break  his  neck,  nor  lie  awake  o'  nights, 
devising  schemes  to  accommodate  the  pub- 
lic. His  loftier  ideas,  for  years,  soared  as 
high,  and  a  little  higher,  than  the  supports 
of  the  structures  erected  for  rapid  tran- 
sit (?).  These  arteries  of  progress  remained 
for  many  moons,  monuments  of  the  Dea- 
con's hate.  His  attorney,  in  injunctions 
vs.  these  improvements,  was  General  Ben- 
jamin Tracy,  and  the  two  worthies  fought 
a  good  fight,  till  the  former  was  finally 
called  upon  to  die ;  then  the  rapid-transit 
elevated  systems  grew  apace. 

Tom  Johnson,  at  that  epoch,  appeared 
upon  the  scene  of  action.  Tom,  the 
apostle  of  single  tax  and  a  rail-mill  owner, 
from  Ohio,  had  mortgages  on  most  of  the 

99 


Wall  Street  by  t\)t  HBacfe  SDoor* 

surface  roads  at  that  time  operated  in 
Brooklyn.  Two  of  these  systems,  like 
ripe  apples,  fell  into  Tom's  basket  —  upon 
foreclosure.  The  amalgamation,  under  the 
euphonious  title  of  the  "  Nassau  System," 
followed.  Into  this  new  management  John- 
son interjected  some  enterprise,  it  must  be 
conceded.  He  ran  his  cars  from  East 
River  to  the  ocean  for  one  fare — a  nickel. 
He  succeeded,  too,  in  getting  the  right  of 
way  over  the  Brooklyn  Bridge,  and  still 
continued  the  nickel  fare.  All  the  others 
followed  suit. 

To  add  to  the  clearing  of  the  way,  at 
that  time,  the  head  and  reputed  owner  of 
the  Atlantic  -  Avenue  -  Steam  -  Line  -  Rapid- 
Transit,  Austin  Corbin,  was  also  laid  under 
the  daisies. 

100 


2UrD  J?ig&  protector  of  H5j;oofeli?n  &♦  &. 

The  late  Governor  Flower  was  then 
"  seen "  by  capitalists,  whose  hands  must 
not  be  made  public.  Money  was  in  sup- 
ply practically  unlimited  by  his  brokers — 
at  least,  convertible  securities  were,  which 
is  much  the  same. 

The  real  ownership  of  the  consolidated 
systems,  which  soon  followed  the  Flower 
"touch,"  was  then,  as  now,  an  apparent 
mystery — to  some.  The  secretary,  treas- 
urer, and  manager,  however,  came  into 
harness  with  the  Flower  regime,  fresh  from 
twenty  years  of  service  in  the  offices  of 
the  New  York  Central  Railroad  Company. 
The  guess  of  his  master's  name  was  not, 
therefore,  hard  to  make. 

The  unification  of  such  securities,  as  then 
represented    the    deluged     Brooklyn    roads, 

IOI 


Wnli  Street  b^  ttje  USacfe  SDoor, 

required  vast  backing  —  and  got  it.  The 
entire  network,  the  amalgamated  outfit, 
ran  into  a  seemingly  homogeneous  whole 
(hole?),  like  molten  metal  —  and,  behold, 
the  present  system  and  name,  "  Brooklyn 
Rapid  Transit." 

The  Governor  began  his  work  as  a  veri- 
table novice.  The  balloon-kiting  quota- 
tions ran  up  the  listed  price,  $60,  in  short 
order,  to  $150  per  share.  Unfortunately, 
as  a  novice,  the  Governor  didn't  know  the 
efficacy  of  the  tin-box-exhibiting  role,  like 
others  who  have  been  mentioned  in  these 
pages.  Neither  did  he  have  practical 
knowledge  of  the  absolute  necessity  of 
controlling,  in  a  strong-box,  more  than 
seven-eighths  of  the  stock.  He  only  held 
five-eighths  of  the    capitalized   system,  and 

102 


ilorti  H?tgl)  protector  of  Brooklyn  &♦  flk 

didn't  know  what  to  do  with  even  that 
much.  The  end  must  be  apparent,  from 
the  beginning,  to  such  readers  as  have  fol- 
lowed this  syllogism. 

Like  Stockwell,  and  his  brace  of  con- 
freres heretofore  enumerated,  the  financial 
sun  of  Roswell  P.  was  in  eclipse. 

Among  other  cogs  missing  in  his  wheel, 
he  lacked  a  press  agent,  and  attempted  that 
role  himself,  ludicrous  as  it  may  appear  to 
some  readers.  One  of  the  ebullitions,  on 
a  single  occasion,  will  accentuate  his  utter 
unfitness  as  an  insider. 

Here  follows  a  beautiful  specimen,  sent 
through  the  land  by  Associated  Press  wires : 

"  Governor  Flower  will  protect  Brooklyn 
Rapid  Transit,  if  it  should  need  protec- 
tion, with  his  whole  present  fortune  of 
103 


Wzll  Street  bp  tJje  Back  SDoor* 

$20,000,000.     The  shares  are  in  demand  at 
$120,  so  protection  seems  unnecessary/' 

<* 

Brooklyn  Rapid  began  to  weaken ;  then 
to  be  "heavy";  then  to  tumble.  Realiza- 
tion by  room-traders  was  announced  as  one 
cause.  Unloading  of  a  large  bull  pool  was 
another. 

The  shares  melted  away  from  5  to  20 
points  in  some  days'  transactions. 

Down,  down,  down,  continued  to  go  the 
tape  quotations,  until  chaotic  conditions 
prevailed  among  traders  in  that  particular 
specialty. 

At  about  this  stage  of  the  game  the 
Governor  left  the  scene  of  action  and  died 
most  suddenly  at  a  seaside  retreat.  Acute 
indigestion  was  the  announced  cause  of  his 

104 


iLorD  «?tgl)  protector  of  HBrookl^n  &♦  3L 

demise.  Critics — a  few — affirmed  that  the 
food  was  too  rich  for  the  Governor;  that  he 
bit  off  more  than  he  could  chew;  the  food 
was  toothsome,  the  Governor  toothless  — 
all  of  which  tributes  were  laurel  wreaths — 
perhaps. 

But  who  killed  this  Cock  Robin;  Scrip- 
tural authority  declares  it  impossible  to 
despoil  a  rich  man's  house,  unless  you  first 
enter  and  bind  the  owner.  Who  could 
beard  such  a  lion  in  his  den  as  this 
Croesus  ?  Who,  indeed,  so  bold  as  to 
even  enter  the  vaults,  flooded  with  his 
" securities, "  personal  and  otherwise? 

No  mortal   could   do   it — if   Flower   had 
really  held  control  of  seven-eighths  of  the 
capitalization  and  had  known  how  to  manip- 
ulate the  shares. 
105 


l^all  Street  by  tlje  Bacfe  HDoor* 

By  the  entry  of  his  vaults  is  meant  to 
signify  the  dominating,  effective  cause  of 
the  fall  in   Brooklyn   Rapid. 

That  values  (quotations  is  a  better  term) 
really  melted — the  fact  is  history.  Flower 
didn't  cause  them  to  tumble.  Neither  did 
he  dump  the  shares  on  the  public.  The 
control  remained,  and  still  continues,  in  the 
directory  of  that  amalgamation. 

Had  the  Governor  been  a  veritable 
Insider,  he  would  have  exhibited  his  con- 
trol to  detractors,  and  spiked  (apparently) 
that  cannon.  But  he  was  a  novice — peace 
to  his  ashes  and  memory — and  wasn't  the 
man  behind  the  guns  at  any  stage  of  the 
proceedings. 

Somebody  did  enter  this  den,  like  a  Daniel 
of   old;    somebody    did    take    possession,    as 

1 06 


iloro  S?igl)  protector  of  Brooklyn  &♦  ®* 

the  sequel  of  events  demonstrates ;  and  all 
these  events,  be  it  remembered,  are  recent 
history. 

A  press  agent,  of  the  true-blue  type, 
stepped  into  the  arena.  Rumors,  dire  and 
pregnant  with  innuendos,  appeared  in  the 
reading  columns  of  the  metropolitan  press. 

Down,  down,  went  the  rating  and  credit 
of  the  "  Rapid,"  as  it  came  to  be  styled. 
It  appeared  to  be  engulfed  beyond  resur- 
rection. After  shaking  out  weak-kneed 
margins  and  stop-orders  the  market  was, 
one  fine  day,  discovered  to  be  oversold. 
The  shorts,  emboldened  by  reams  upon 
reams  of  other  short  sales  from  some 
source,  but  never  covered,  found  the  squeez- 
ing time  at  the  door  once  more. 

Presto !  The  corpse  was  resuscitated. 
107 


WM  Street  by  ttie  ilSacfe  2Door* 

A  reward  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars 
of  gold  coin  of  standard  weight  and  fine- 
ness was  advertised,  and  still  is,  for  the 
defamers  of  the  good  name  of  Rapid.  It 
is  hardly  necessary  to  advert  to  one  or  two 
arrests  in  this  connection. 

As  in  the  case  of  Jarndyce  vs  Jarndyce, 
so  in  this  instance.  A  judgment  on  the 
Day  of  Judgment  may  probably  be  ex- 
pected. 

Yet,  some  one  sold  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  short  and  squeezed  shorts  on  the 
upward  rebound.      Who  was  it? 

Only  one  living  man  could  have  done 
it.  All  deals  nowadays  must  have  him,  or 
fail. 

"All  these  things  availeth  nothing,  so 
long  as  Mordecai  sits  at  the  King's  gate." 

108 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


OUR    HERO    AT    THE    TILLER. 

Should  any  skeptical  reader  demand  fur- 
ther proof  of  the  soundness  of  the  postu- 
lates advanced,  and  the  logically  truthful 
conclusions  therefrom,  let  him  in  fairness 
follow  subjoined  facts : 

The  simoon  which  visited  the  Street  on 
Thursday,  May  9,  1901,  buttressed  every 
contention  in  these  pages.  Let's  examine 
the  matter  briefly  before  dogmatizing  as  to 
conclusions. 

Can  any  one,  if  informed,  controvert  the 

i°9 


l^all  Street  b£  tfce  HBacb  SDoor* 

allegation  that  one  —  only  —  veritable  I n- 
sider,  the  Colossus  of  these  pages  and  of 
the  Street  as  well,  was — must  have  been — 
the  manager  of  the  pyrotechnics  ? 

He  dominated  the  situation  from  the 
time  they  were  off  till  the  Clearing  House 
people  put  the  tiller  down,  causing  the 
craft  to  come  into  the  wind  and  shake. 
No  other  living  man  than  he  owns  the 
mental  equipoise,  is  equipped  with  the 
experience,  possesses  the  nerve,  can  muster 
and  command  the  brokers  needed  for 
such  enterprises.  An  outsider  would  be 
devoured  by  the  commissions,  even  though 
he  might  own,  absolutely,  a  half-dozen 
national  banks. 

This  statement,  surely,  should  not  be 
called  into  question.     Millions  on  millions 

I  IO 


W$t  "&ipptt"  Simoon* 


of  shares  were  recorded ;  billions  on  billions 
of  dollars  were  represented  in  any  one  or 
two  weeks'  aggregate  transactions  of  that 
period. 

Only  brokers  can  handle  such  transac- 
tions, and  they  lawfully  demand  and  receive 
a  stated  commission  —  unless  they  act  by 
the  year,  as  a  family  physician  or  an  attor- 
ney sometimes  acts.  A  bit  of  figuring, 
then,  on  any  week's  totals  in  the  Street 
will  establish  the  statement  advanced,  L  e.y 
that  over  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  transac- 
tions are  "wash"  sales. 

The  chief  character  of  this  book  has 
been  called  by  many  names,  but  never  has 
he  been  called  a  fool.  Even  cartoonists 
have  attempted  to  characterize  him  times 
beyond  mention.  One  such  cartoon,  fol- 
iii 


^all  Street  b£  t\)t  Back  SDoor. 


lowing  Blue  Thursday,  merits  a  brief 
notice.  The  artist  calls  our  Insider  a 
bell-wether.  Ye  gods,  what  next !  Under 
his  cartoon  are  the  words :  "  Same  old 
shares ;  same  old  shearing/*  Yes,  the  same 
old  shears  were  in  use  on  May  9,  1901. 
So,  likewise,  verily,  were  the  same  old 
shares.  What  memories  the  mere  trans- 
posing of  a  few  letters  awaken  ! 

Indeed  yes,  the  shares  were  there  again. 
The  same  stuff,  it  was  and  is,  that  was 
contaminated,  in  the  opinion  of  many  vic- 
tims, by  the  touch  of  Cook  and  Villard. 

Apropos  of  Villard,  right  here ;  his 
estate  was  officially  announced  in  Gotham 
one  day,  only,  after  the  simoon  described. 
Funny  coincidence,  wasn't  it?  Then,  too, 
these    official    statements    declare    the    late 


1 12 


W$z  "jliippei;"  Simoon* 


defunct's  estate  to  exceed  two  million  nine 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  Phew  !  Whew ! 
Whew  !  Surely  some  mistake  somewhere ! 
Who  could  have  made  it?  Villard  was 
bankrupt,  as  alleged,  not  many  moons 
prior  to  his  demise.  The  "Nipper"  direc- 
tors voted  him  a  sop  of  thirty  thousand 
dollars,  poor  soul,  and  it  was  heralded 
broadcast  as  all  he  had  left  after  the  crash. 

Official  confirmation  this  of  the  allega- 
gations  as  to  Villard  in  this  book.      Next ! 

<* 

One  Insider  isn't,  never  was,  never  could 
be,  a  bell-wether,  as  depicted  by  the  car- 
toonist. In  the  first  place,  his  nationality 
(he  is  Scotch)  stamps  him  as  too  virile  for 
a  stool-pigeon.  Next,  his  Mount  Shasta 
life  and    experience,   when    he    first    landed 

"3 


^all  Street  b^  tlje  Back  SDoor* 

in  North  America,  emphasizes  this  impos- 
sible role.  Then,  too,  his  legal  lore  —  for 
he  is  a  lawyer,  as  some  know ;  not  many — 
stamps  it  as  unworthy  of  such  a  member. 
Again,  his  career,  from  Mount  Shasta  to 
'Frisco,  as  an  itinerant  peddler  of  window 
shades — perfectly  well  known,  by  some — 
minimizes  the  probability  of  the  application. 

Then,  too,  his  entree  into  'Frisco  Mining 
Exchange,  his  clairvoyant  episode  on  that 
Board,  where  he  was  recognized  as  its  most 
brilliant,  forceful,  and  fearless  member,  deny 
the  imputation  of  bell-wether. 

And  yet,  again,  he  bought  "Yellow 
Jacket"  shares  at  $40,  pyramided  his 
modest  holdings ;  was,  in  consequence,  not 
particularly  noticed  by  Flood ;  followed 
Yellow    Jacket's    squeezing    of    shorts    to 

114 


Wqt  "jlitpper"  £>tmoom 


$7,000  (not  $1,000,  mind  you;  but  $7,000), 
and,  as  clairvoyant,  got  out  near  the  top 
and  cleaned  up  $2,000,000  hard  cash. 

Then,  again,  he  entered  Consolidated 
Virginia,  near  bed-rock  quotations,  when 
Sharon-Mills-Jones  people  began  boosting 
it,  and  raked  off  another  round  million. 

The  beguiling  overtures  made  to  him  by 
emissaries  of  the  management  of  Consoli- 
dated Virginia  to  re-enter  the  "sure-thing" 
arena  for  more  lucre,  were  cast  aside  by 
Our  Hero.  "I'll  never  play  again  at 
another  man's  game,"  declared  he,  publicly, 
on  the  streets  of  San  Francisco.  "I'm 
going  East  to  New  York,  where  I'll  have 
a  game  of  my  own  henceforth,"  he  added. 
And  he  did  so,  and  has  been  in  evidence — 
sometimes — as  a  potential  entity  ever  since. 

"5 


^all  fyttttt  by  t\)t  Bach  SDoor* 

He  has  never  been  the  tail,  but  the 
dog,  always,  that  wags  the  tail.  Bell-wether, 
indeed — avant. 

If  some  capable  cartoonist  —  fully  in- 
formed as  to  the  merits  and  achievements 
of  the  great  Insider  —  wants  to  delineate 
him,  as  he  now  is,  let  him  follow,  if 
inclined,  some  such  suggestions  as  come 
from  an  examination  of  above  averments, 
and  the  following,  also :  Outline  him  as 
a  three-headed,  seven-sensed  figure.  His 
visual  organs,  too,  are  perfect.  He  doesn't 
squint — has  no  strabismus. 

He  is  not  a  pilot  of  fledglings,  or  lambs. 
Full-grown,  succulent,  Southdown  mutton 
is  his  diet.  Like  his  predecessor,  our  Caesar 
waxes  and  grows  fat  on  mutton.  He  isn't 
a    shoe-string    gambler.      Let    bucket-shops 

116 


ULfyt  "jlitppejt;"  Simoon* 


shear  lambs,  if  they  will.  Our  Insider  likes 
a  well-filled  bank  account;  a  buck,  full 
grown  and  aggressive,  and  able  to  lose* 
Lambs,  indeed.     Never.     Never. 

Paragraphists,  who  never  knew  the  man, 
defame  him  by  such  insulting  comparisons. 
By  all  means,  let  us  "render  unto  Caesar 
the  things  that  are  Caesar's."  And,  to 
round  out  the  source  of  the  text,  let  it  be, 
once  for  all,  declared  that,  instead  of  lambs, 
our  Goliath  feeds  on  sheep  and — "other 
sheep  he  has  which  are  not  of  this  fold." 

Well,  to  the  9th  of  May  simoon  once 
more,  and  the  moral  its  examination  will 
accentuate. 

The  drivel  of  quoting  Morgan  vs.  Har- 
riman  as  cause  and  effect  is  idiocy  of  diction. 

117 


3£all  Street  b^  tfce  ilBacfe  2Doot\ 

Our  Hero's  press  agent  covered  his  master's 
footsteps  admirably.  One  master  hand — 
and  only  one — conceived,  and  still  carries 
forward,  the  several  speculative  deals,  real 
and  putative,  mentioned  in  these  days  of 
grace.  The  financial  end  of  the  scheme ; 
the  locking  up  of  the  major  part  of  the 
common  stocks,  so  dealt  in;  the  actual 
community  of  interest  phases,  too,  are  facts 
and  aids  to  his  ends. 

Capital  doesn't  quarrel  with  capital.  It 
amalgamates  as  naturally  as  water  seeks  its 
own  level. 

Uncle  Russell  Sage  headed  the  list  of 
"  I  told  you  so's,"  and  boasted  of  his 
loans,  then  at  forty  per  cent.  This  malo- 
dorous "relative,"  however,  wasn't  in  the 
love  feast,  so  for  as  discoverable.     His  pick- 

1 1 8 


Ji^ 


Russell    Sage. 

'This  malodorous  'relative'  wasn't  in  the  love 
feast" 


t&lje  "j£tpper"  Simoon* 


ings  in  the  Third  Avenue  deal  were  rich. 
So  he  ought  to  be  content. 

Our  Insider  hasn't  yet  been  quoted  as 
publicly  announcing  his  share  of  the  win- 
nings in  Nipper's  last  corner.  He  has  been 
there  before.  He  has  never  made  but  one 
public  mistake,  as  we  have  seen,  and  isn't 
likely  to  make  another  one — not  now. 

Verily,  verily,  a  mighty  Goliath  is  this 
Insider.  Mighty  in  all  the  qualities  that 
enter  into  a  genius. 

All  who  know  him  in  his  peculiar  sphere 
(and  not  many  do  so  know  him)  are  always 
ready  to  lift  a  hat  to  him  in  salutation. 

"Go  thou  and  do  likewise,"  reader,  if 
you  are  convinced  of  his  eminence. 

He'll  soon  leave  the  stage — probably. 


119 


WM  Street  b£  ttje  Back  HDoor* 

In  some  inscrutable  turn  of  the  wheel  of 
fate,  a  successor  to  almost  all  men  seems 
to  arise,  as  emergencies  occur.  Perhaps 
that  may  be  the  case  when  Our  Hero 
shall  sleep  with  his  fathers,  too.  Oppor- 
tunity breeds  the  man. 

As  heretofore  declared,  Gould  was  the 
first  insider  in  the  United  States.  At  his 
demise  thoughtful  men,  interested  in  the 
Street's  operations,  believed  that  deals, 
pools,  and  Black  Fridays  would  die  with 
their  author.  Gould  had  always  lived,  as 
he  died,  secretive,  and  boasting  one  friend 
on  earth — his  wife.  How  he  learned  his  art 
few  persons  knew.  None  from  him  direct. 
His  heirs  apparent,  or  even  those  putative, 
gave  no  evidence,  and  still  give  none,  of 
being  able  to  become  an  insider. 

1 20 


®\)t  «0ipptt"  Simoon* 


Nevertheless,  Gould's  grave  had  scarcely 
grown  green  ere  Cammack  vaulted  into  the 
arena,  but  never  able  to  fill  Gould's  shoes 
entirely.  Cammack,  as  has  been  heretofore 
stated,  was  a  man  of  one  talent  only.  He 
was  a  master  and  past  master  as  a  bear. 
Bruin  himself  never  knew  a  bee-tree  when 
he  saw  it  more  thoroughly  well  than  did 
Cammack  know  how  to  squeeze  shorts. 
He  also  knew,  better  than  any  other  living 
man,  in  his  hey  day  of  operations,  how  to 
lead  the  lambs  into  his  pastures. 

So  Cammack,  at  least,  half  filled  the  re- 
quirements of  a  successor.  But,  said  many : 
"No  successor  to  Cammack  is  in  sight. 
*  *  *  With  his  retirement  must  surely 
end  all  the  great  upheavals,  corners,  and 
deals.     The  sequel  proves  they  were  wrong. 

121 


Wnl\  Street  b^  ttie  HBacb  SDoor* 

Even  at  the  risk  of  digression  being 
charged,  it  seems  proper  to  analyze  one 
alleged  factor,  who  came  upon  the  boards 
before  Our  Hero  over-shadowed  all  others, 
as  he  soon  did  after  Cammack's  retire- 
ment—  and  still  does. 

Philip  D.  Armour,  now  deceased,  once 
attempted  to  pose  as  a  manipulator  after 
Gould's  demise  and  Cammack's  retirement. 

Phil  was  a  mighty  man  of  finance ;  a  pig- 
sticker and  packer  of  international  renown ; 
a  sphinx,  some  thought.  His  consent,  there- 
fore, "to  talk  for  publication,"  when  he 
began  his  role,  caused  a  ripple  of  excite- 
ment. 

Our  Hero,  at  that  epoch,  had  achieved 
several  mamentous  successes.  Phil  knew 
this.      The   great    Insider   was   rapidly   get- 

122 


tlje  "j^pper"  Simoon* 


ting  control  of  strings  to  bring  out  his 
symphony.  Phil  knew  this,  too.  But  the 
brave  idea  of  needing  such  a  genius,  and 
of  sharing  one-half  each  with  him,  was 
repugnant  to  Phil. 

Hadn't  Phil  cornered  wheat,  and  more 
than  once?  Hadn't  lard  fattened  his  cof- 
fers, as  well,  under  a  corner?  Couldn't  he 
point  with  pride  to  canned  goods  supplied 
to  the  civilized  world?  Wasn't  he  hard- 
headed,  virile,  level-headed ;  a  self-made 
man,  a  multi-millionaire?  Certainly  he  was 
all  these. 

Why,  then,  soliloquized  Phil,  shouldn't 
and  couldn't  he  manipulate  St.  Paul  ?  He 
did,  after  a  fashion. 

Once  his  determination  on  this  head  was 
fixed,  the  pronunciamento  of  his  alleged 
123 


^ail  &tvttt  bp  tije  Bach  SDoon 


purpose  found  its  way  to  the  public.  This 
is  the  way  he  gave  it  forth : 

"  Providence,  doubtless,  could  have  made 
a  better  road,  or  caused  it  to  be  made,  than 
St.  Paul;  also,  a  safer  investment;  but  He 
didn't  do  it." 

Solomon,  in  all  his  glory,  pales  into 
insignificance  beside  this  understudy.  His 
blasphemous  effusions  seemed,  to  many, 
well  informed,  to  foreshadow  the  ultimate 
collapse.  And  it  came,  and  came  soon. 
Investors  wouldn't  buy,  and  Phil  resumed 
pig-sticking.  Enough,  even  in  digression, 
has  been  said,  to  accentuate  the  conviction 
that  Our  Hero  was  needed,  and  came. 

If  any  further  arguments  were  needed  to 
demonstrate  the  great  Insider's  oligarchy, 
one  glance  at    the   market's   course    during 

124 


W$t  "jlitpper"  £>imoon. 


his  absence  abroad,  in  the  summer  of  1900, 
would  prove  it. 

He  cooled  his  heels  for  months,  under 
the  mahogany  of  the  Metropole  in  Lon- 
don; basked  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Tuileries  on  the  Seine's  bank  in  Paris; 
ran  his  Disguise  II.,  son  of  the  mighty 
Domino,  a  close  third  in  the  1900  Derby; 
saw  the  same  Disguise  II.  win  $50,000 
soon  afterward;  read  the  plaintive  Thre- 
nody arising  from  the  Street  circles,  at  his 
continued  absence ;  even  read  the  Thana- 
topsis  —  awful  of  death  —  was  the  term 
applied  to  the  Industrials,  because  of  his 
absence;    and  still  he  remained  abroad. 

The  market  had  gangreen,  and  was  a  dry 
rot.  As  soon  as  he  returned,  however, 
just  as  soon  did  recuperation  begin.  And 
125 


^all  Street  b£  t\)t  Back  moot. 

exactly  so  long  as  he  continues  at  the 
helm,  exactly  so  frequent  will  be  deals  and 
corners,  ad  infinitum,  as  he  may  elect. 

It  is  idle,  therefore,  as  well  as  immaterial, 
to  speculate  as  to  his  successor.  Nature's 
abhorrence  for  a  vacuum  is  not  less  abhor- 
rent than  that  of  the  Street's  votaries  to  a 
stagnant  condition.  Some  Phoenix  can  be 
looked  for  upon  Our  Hero's  retirement, 
whatever  the  cause  may  be,  when  he  finally 
stops. 

Meanwhile,  can  any  one  who  has  fol- 
lowed these  articles,  fail  to  complete  the 
identification  ? 

Not  to  know  him  is  to  proclaim  your- 
self unknown." 


126 


Philip  D.  Armour. 
''A  pig  sticker  and  packer  of  international 


renown: 


HebtetD  of  t^e  ^llojjtgm* 


PART    FIRST. 

A  syllogism  is  defined  as  "an  argument 
consisting  of  three  propositions/'  Such  an 
argument  has  been  herein  attempted. 

At  the  outset,  therefore,  statements  and 
facts  were  adduced,  often  introductory  com- 
ments, in  support  of  the  proposition  that 
listed  stocks  (not  bonds,  debentures  and 
the  like — though  it  could  be  demonstrated 
that  their  fluctuations,  likewise,  were  due  to 
the  same  causes  influencing  stocks)  rose  and 
fell,  in  deals  especially,  at  the  behest  of  one 
man. 

The  argument  proceeds,  mainly,  along 
two  logical  and  permissible  lines,  viz. :  A 
127 


^all  Street  bp  tfte  Bach  EDoor* 

reductio  ad  absurdum  (reducing  a  position 
to  an  absurdity)  line.  Then,  by  direct 
affirmation,  backed  by  instances,  examples, 
and  epochs.     All  sine  odio. 

PART    SECOND. 

The  second  proposition  was  addressed 
to  the  style  of  proof  in  which  chimerical 
proofs  were  emasculated.  Only  recent  and 
historical  illustrations  were  enumerated  in 
support  of  the  postulate,  nevertheless. 
Failures  of  quasi  insiders,  and  the  reasons 
therefore,  were  enlarged  upon,  reaching,  it 
is  believed,  a  conclusive  position. 

PART    THIRD. 

Lastly,  the  argument  proceeded  upon 
the  assumption  of  the  writer's  ability  to 
enable  all  fairly  informed  readers  hereof  to 

128 


fcctotrto   of  tfte  £>pllogtsm* 

exclaim,  without  further  assistance,  Ecce 
Homo.  How  successfully  the  treatise  has 
thus  culminated  must  be  left,  of  course,  to 
those  who  have  followed  the  argument. 
One  thing  is  certain,  in  this  connection,  and 
that  is:  the  constructor  of  the  argument 
believes  the  case  made  out  and  the  proofs 
to  be  incontestible. 


129 


